We Are as Gods, by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler (2026)
I do not remember reading any of Diamandis's earlier books, although I have read thoughtful criticisms of his worldview, particularly More Everything Forever by Adam Becker. I approached this book with some skepticism and came away pleasantly surprised. The book is short, dense, and an enthusiastic romp through the idea that humanity is entering a technological singularity driven by AI, biotechnology, robotics, energy, space exploration, and other accelerating technologies.
Much of the book resonates with my lifelong love of optimistic science fiction. Diamandis paints a future that resembles the post-scarcity civilizations of Star Trek or Culture series, except that he argues many of those ideas are becoming practical engineering problems rather than distant fantasies. I found that perspective both entertaining and thought-provoking.
I am not quite as optimistic as Diamandis. Conversations with my children also highlighted an important omission. The modern "abundance" movement often underestimates the contributions of governments, universities, and publicly funded scientific institutions that create the fundamental discoveries upon which private innovation depends. I also noticed a strong bias toward the "great man" theory of history. The book celebrates visionary entrepreneurs but pays much less attention to the institutional labor and collaborative research that make many breakthroughs possible. Diamandis acknowledges several risks associated with rapidly advancing technology, including unequal access and misuse, but other challenges receive much less attention than I would have preferred.
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