Author’s note: This blog post is inspired by the 1924 novel “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin. A dystopian tale set in an undated future, “We” unfolds through the protagonist’s journal. In our story the narrator uses a gender neutral pronoun set, “ze/zir/zem,” and dates are expressed in binary form. You may find this usage and satirical approach a little disruptive to your reading flow at first, but the story of disruption is what we’re all about today.

Involution Principal, Jon Follett, editor of the upcoming book "Designing for Emerging Technologies" recently spoke with Jenn Webb, O'Reilly Radar's online managing editor and Mary Treseler, editorial strategist, on the O'Reilly Radar Podcast. In the podcast, the group discussed the challenges of understanding the disruptive power of emerging technologies — such as genomics, robotics, synthetic biology, and connected environments.

Over the next thirty years, there is little that humans can dream that we won’t be able to do — from hacking our DNA, to embedding computers in our bodies, to printing replacement organs. Because of this, we face a future where what it means to be human will be inexorably changed: Today, technology has already raced ahead of mankind’s ability to deal with it emotionally, morally, and socially.