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EUROPEAN VISIONS FOR THE KNOWLEDGE
AGE
A Quest for New Horizons in
the Information Society
- Paul T Kidd (Ed.)
- ISBN 978-1-901864-08-3 (Paperback)
- Price: £19.99/€29.99/US$35.99
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- Visions of the future are
an important aid to the development of a world that people want,
rather than one that is imposed on them by some external unseen
hand of fate. Visions can also offer ideas and present alternatives
that can stimulate creative thinking, trigger innovation, and
provide some pointers to the types of issues that may need to
be addressed in the future.
This book has been designed with these aspects of vision in mind.
The aim is not to use visions to predict the future, but to explore
different options and possibilities. The book is directed at
stimulating a reflection on possible futures as society moves
forward in the emerging knowledge age. Experts drawn from the
fields of science, engineering, technology and humanities present
their thoughts, ideas, and reflections on where society may be
headed, covering a time scale up to 30 years ahead. The book
offers a unique perspective of the intersections among knowledge,
design, technology, communication, people, and society. Based
on their own in-depth knowledge of current developments, the
authors describe what they think could be, what they think should
be, and sometimes warn about what they think should not be the
future.
The strength of this book lies in its independence; it does not
represent the official view of the authors' companies, or institutions,
but rather the independent opinions of a range of thinkers and
practitioners. Such an independent presentation of ideas can
provide a valuable mirror for reflecting on current actions,
or for laying the foundations of future ones.
In Europe there is a need to develop clearer visions of future
society. The reflection and discussion about where to go needs
to be extended far beyond acknowledged experts, to include a
much broader spectrum of society. This book offers one starting
point for such a broader discussion and reflection on society's
future in the knowledge age.
The idea for this book originated with Jakub Wejchert who shaped
the concept and recruited the contributors, tirelessly reviewed
the contributions, and provided advice to the authors to enable
each of them to arrive at quality contributions. Unfortunately
changing work commitments and areas of responsibility meant that
Jakub was no longer able to continue in the role of editor. When
Jakub withdrew I was asked to step in and take over the role
of editor to ensure that the valuable contributions contained
within the book reached the intended readership. This I was happy
to do, sure in the knowledge that the content represents a valuable
resource for discussion about the future of society. Thus while
I put the finishing touches to the book, preparing the introduction
and arranging publication, the bulk of the credit for this book
lies with Jakub. I would therefore like to express my thanks
to Jakub for his commitment and efforts, and for giving me the
opportunity to finish what he started. I hope that the finished
product reflects well his original intentions.
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Paul T Kidd
Macclesfield, United Kingdom
February 2007
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