On the Future

As with his 2003 Our Final Century, Rees warns that human civilization faces grave existential risks.[3]

Rees considers a scenario 20 years from now, where carbon dioxide levels have continued to rise, and where climate models have improved. There is a possibility the improved models will predict imminent catastrophe, in which case there might emerge political pressure to immediately deploy poorly-understood geo-engineering techniques. In order to mitigate this "nightmare" scenario, Rees advocates that we start exploring these techniques now, so as to better understand their limitations, risks, and side effects.[4]

Other risks include nuclear war, an asteroid strike, rogue biotechnology, or artificial intelligence. Rees advocates that nations empower supra-national institutions to better collaborate against such risks, a difficult task given the populist trends against globalism.[5] Some scholars, such as Stephen Hawking, have advocated space colonization as a way to mitigate existential risk; Rees breaks with Hawking on this matter and criticizes space colonization as "a dangerous delusion to think that space offers an escape from Earth's problems".[6]

Vanity Fair assessed the book as "uncontroversial... written in a way that's accessible to the general reader, and sprinkled with moments of infectious awe."[2] Scientific American recommended the book as a "spirited assessment of technology's role in shaping our future".[7] Engineering & Technology assessed it as "short, but persuasive".[8] A New Statesman review stated "Remarkably, what seems like an extended state-of-the-planet essay does not feel as depressing as it ought: Rees dispenses his apocalyptic overview of the coming decades like cocktail party wisdom".[5] The Financial Times called it "crisply written";[3] Publishers Weekly called it "far-ranging but easily understood".[9] Kirkus Reviews called it "A book to be read by anyone on Earth who cares about its future."[10]

On November 23, 2018, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that during a tense parliamentary debate in the Knesset, Prime Minister Netanyahu was observed engrossed in a copy of On The Future, marking passages and writing notes, and only occasionally raising his head to follow the ongoing debate in the plenum.[11]

• Publisher website
• ABC interview with Rees