Neuromined: Triumphing over Technological Tyranny

by Robert Edward Grant, Michael Ashley

Nonfiction Book Awards Bronze Medal Are advances in technology working for us or against us? When our phones become our keys to access everything, will our lives be more convenient or more at the mercy of whoever can hack into our devices? Will self-driving cars help us maximize our time and get to our destination safely, or will they erode the autonomy and freedom we feel when we drive ourselves? What happens if the government, in the name of public health, gains access to the data in our handy fitness trackers and uses it to reward or limit us? In Neuromined , data sovereignty advocate Robert Edward Grant and prolific technology author Michael Ashley team up to explore significant questions such as these. Each chapter imagines a near-future surveillance dystopia through a riveting fictional tale and provides a companion analysis connecting the story to our present reality. Entertaining and provoking, this book shows readers how the technology that has promised a lifetime of convenience has also constrained a public's individual options and agency. But all hope is not lost. Neuromined , at its core, demonstrates how technology, when viewed through a different ethos and used by a conscientious public, can instead provide greater autonomy and greater access to liberation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

224 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2023

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed for Foreword Books INDIES awards.

The author tells some incredibly entertaining Black Mirror-style stories about how technology could impact our future. Each story precedes a discussion by the author about current and future issues facing our society. My main issue was that these discussions were very right-leaning (arguably libertarian), sympathizing more with the individual good than the need for supporting the common good. Like I said, the stories were great, and while the discussions weren't terribly heavy-handed in their conservatism, they definitely can't be considered balanced either.

[norma baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book uses short stories about the importance of technology in our lives and the risk to individual liberty.

[Alisha Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, this book was not what I was anticipating. I appreciate what the authors are trying to say (Technology is a slippery slope! Think independently! Protect your personal data! Don't let the government control you!), but I rather disliked the format used to illustrate their points. Each chapter consisted of a fictional account of a dystopian world followed by a nonfiction section discussing their point. The fictional sections were interesting enough, but I felt like there was a disconnect between the sections. Some points in the fiction section were not discussed in the follow-up and oftentimes other real-life events were used in the discussion (which I thought was more effective than referring to a fictional dystopia that the author created). This fiction/discussion strategy just didn't work well for me because I'm more interested in the facts which are leading the authors to draw these conclusions and be concerned instead of the possible wild scenarios which may or may not happen in the future.

Overall, this book just didn't impress me. I felt the authors could have gone into more depth and detail about the issues our current society is facing as we advance technologically. They also did not seem to offer very many solutions to these issues. By the end it almost felt like so much of the propaganda of which they warn us to be wary.

Thanks to the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

[Kevin Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was phenomenal. In an age where techno and the digital world has largely taken over daily life, it still shows how there is a greater entity controlling us and what we see and any possible repercussions. When it comes values such that are listed in government bodies or overt themes in society, there is someone who is always regulating what can or can’t be done. For example the idea that the author presented with Fact-Checkers. The author publishes and imagine of them as these independent bodies when they’re really just people who don’t know what they’re limiting but producing what they’re told to create a narrative.
This spectrum also go to the world stage and phenomenally illustrates this concept on the world stage. Whether it was creating an imagine of the freedom riders and shifting to the freedom convoy in Canada or the over surveillance in China, the author shows how we need to still be aware of what factors and data are controlling what we see or don’t see in the digital age.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title didn't convey to me what the book was actually about: the dangers of big tech, big data, big government, big finance, etc.

I also didn't love the format: a fictional story of a possible near future where things go terribly wrong and then a non fiction section explaining why it's possible.

The book seems heavy on the doom and gloom of the dangers of overuse and over-reliance on technology and light on actual solutions. Some sections offer no solutions at all, and even the solutions section of the book doesn't provide clear things to do to avoid the dystopia of a future they think is coming.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neuromined

A book warning about fighting for our rights. This is a collection of cautionary tales of what could happen. It starts with one scorned lover that responds to being dumped by digitally ruining the person that dumped him. Then there are other cautionary tales about the government using surveillance tactics to read our minds. As we do things the government desires, we get rewarded. If we comply we are “taken care of.” The instant we step out of line we become enemies of the state. It is only when we refuse to submit that we see how bad the surveillance is.

#GoodreadsGiveaway

[Wendy 'windmill' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

A very well written & informative book. The style they have chosen to get this information out really draws you in! I loved the hypothetical/fictional story to start (Show) & then the actual reality of the issues addressed (Tell), it really helped bring these issues more to the fore. Brilliant!
This is the second book of Robert Edward Grant that I have bought & read, the first being Philomath, & again, although very different in topic, they are both brilliantly written & very informative! Anyone who's truly interested in Doing Their Bit needs to be following R.E.G!

[Shell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book blew my mind and has made me rethink anything I have ever posted online or interacted with via the internet. If you are online at all or even just have an internet connection for TV, you have no privacy. I believe the case scenarios presented will come true in the future, as some have already happened on a smaller scale. A great read, as the situations are presented in story format and then backed up with facts. I highly recommend this book.#GoodreadsGiveaway

[Kiel Ochalek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free version of this book from GoodReads and really enjoyed this book. The authors did a great job of tying fictional stories to real life problems that our society is facing. There is a lot of data out there that can be used against us, which the authors do a great job of explaining. Though some of what they write is scary to imagine, we should all look at as a warning of what could come.

[RedReviews4You Susan-Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great informative read that I really enjoyed. It had a lot of well researched, well.argued, and well.written positions that made me pause and reflect on my own use of technology and ponder where technology is leading us today. Please note.that this was a science read and although well wriTen, it was dense.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about big tech, personal data, and the terrors of who controls what and how. Interesting, potentially terrifying, and possibly eye opening, but I didn’t love the format. Fictional stories are told to illustrate points, which I understand the intent, but I just didn’t enjoy or connect well with that format.
This was a Goodreads Giveaway win.

[Christopher Scoles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A futurists look at the worst case scenario of our currently exploding technological revolution. One part realism, one part sci fi, and one part propaganda. It made me think about things, but not outside of what I've already thought about on my own. It didn't leave much in the way of hope or suggestions on how to improve anything it talks about. Worth reading? Maybe.

[Yamilet West · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reality that we are living in.

This book was an eye opener. I didn’t too much care about the fictional stories but the authors did a great job at connecting what was fictional and what is currently happening in our every day lives when it comes to AI.

[Mae B · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at the world of tech ahead.

[Marilyn]

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