Evolution Isn't What It Used to Be: The Augmented Animal and the Whole Wired World - Hardcover

From the author of Reality Isn't What it Used to Be, comes a new book questioning the burgeoning enterprise of genetic engineering. Anderson argues that technology, in replicating nature's chemistry, will actually transform the process of evolution, creating man-machine interdependency. While this could permit us to eradicate fatal illnesses or create a "global nervous system" to determine how to manage natural resources, Anderson warns there could be dire consequences. Some people, as they do now, may refuse to accept technology. For those who do accept, comes the responsibility of playing God or becoming a "worldmaker." Anderson believes a moral examination of technology is needed, and that ultimately, some form of governance must be in place.

What's frustrating about this book is that these ideas, inherently interesting and explosive, don't go beyond other recent explorations into the future-is-now. -- The New York Times Book Review, David S. Bennahum