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The End of Life as We Know It Lib/E: Ominous News from the Frontiers of Science
In nearly all aspects of life, humans are crossing lines of no return.
Modern science is leading us into vast uncharted territory-far beyond the invention of nuclear weapons or taking us to the moon. Today, in labs all over the world, scientists are performing experiments that threaten to fundamentally alter the practical character and ethical color of our everyday lives.
In The End of Life as We Know It, bestselling author Michael Guillen takes a penetrating look at how the scientific community is pushing the boundaries of morality, including
scientists who detached the head of a Russian man from his crippled, diseased body, and stitching it onto a healthy new donated body; fertility experiments aimed at allowing designer babies to be conceived with the DNA from three or more biological parents; the unprecedented politicization of science-for example, in the global discussion about climate change that is pitting deniers against alarmists and inspiring Draconian legislation, censorship, and legal prosecutions; and the integration of Artificial Intelligence into communications and the economy.The End of Life as We Know It takes us into laboratories and boardrooms where these troubling advances are taking place and asks the question no scientists seem to be asking: What does this mean for the future of humanity?
Modern science is leading us into vast uncharted territory-far beyond the invention of nuclear weapons or taking us to the moon. Today, in labs all over the world, scientists are performing experiments that threaten to fundamentally alter the practical character and ethical color of our everyday lives.
In The End of Life as We Know It, bestselling author Michael Guillen takes a penetrating look at how the scientific community is pushing the boundaries of morality, including
scientists who detached the head of a Russian man from his crippled, diseased body, and stitching it onto a healthy new donated body; fertility experiments aimed at allowing designer babies to be conceived with the DNA from three or more biological parents; the unprecedented politicization of science-for example, in the global discussion about climate change that is pitting deniers against alarmists and inspiring Draconian legislation, censorship, and legal prosecutions; and the integration of Artificial Intelligence into communications and the economy.The End of Life as We Know It takes us into laboratories and boardrooms where these troubling advances are taking place and asks the question no scientists seem to be asking: What does this mean for the future of humanity?
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Published October 16, 2018
32 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Michael Guillen
16 books84 followersDr. Guillen taught physics at Harvard, was ABC News' Science Editor, is a three-time Emmy winner, a TV host, movie producer, speaker, bestselling author, and host of the internationally popular podcast "Science+God."
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 18, 2019
I admit, I found the book a bit disappointing. in part because little of what he talked about was new to me, but I am probably not the average “science news follower” out there, so this is less of a problem.
My bigger concern with the book is that it is meant as a kind of warning / book of concern about the direction science is taking us and the potential downsides. Where the book fails for me though is in the way the argument is being presented. In large parts the book reminds me of “YouTube news videos”. You know, the one where someone holds their mug into the camera, reads an article and then nods or disagrees, often superficially, with what is written.
It is not quite THAT way, but it seems to me that Michael Guillen mostly relies on others to make his arguments instead of constructing his own fully. This does not mean that I couldn’t get a sense of his objections, but it felt disjointed, as if he picked opinions he agreed with and strung them together to make the argument for him.
It does distract a bit from the argument he is trying to me, to me at least.
Having said this, I think some good debates can be had about the technologies he describes.
My bigger concern with the book is that it is meant as a kind of warning / book of concern about the direction science is taking us and the potential downsides. Where the book fails for me though is in the way the argument is being presented. In large parts the book reminds me of “YouTube news videos”. You know, the one where someone holds their mug into the camera, reads an article and then nods or disagrees, often superficially, with what is written.
It is not quite THAT way, but it seems to me that Michael Guillen mostly relies on others to make his arguments instead of constructing his own fully. This does not mean that I couldn’t get a sense of his objections, but it felt disjointed, as if he picked opinions he agreed with and strung them together to make the argument for him.
It does distract a bit from the argument he is trying to me, to me at least.
Having said this, I think some good debates can be had about the technologies he describes.
February 22, 2019
The simple best part of this book is that it presents an unbiased opinion on the current and future implications of technology. Guillen does a great job of organizing the text in a way that makes the ideas simple to understand and clear on what he is specifically commenting on. There are three main sections of the book so it makes it easy to read the part you most want to know about, although I would recommend reading the whole thing. Throughout the book he continues to cite his sources meaning there’s never any confusion as to where his evidence is coming from. This again applies to the neutral bias of the book. He provides facts on the topic along with the positive AND negative sides. The benefit of this is it allows the reader to form their own opinion. This freedom to for, your own opinion makes the book much more enjoyable and a quick read!
June 2, 2019
There has to be an end. And a prophet telling the people what is going to happen. And it has to be NOW so people will buy the **** book.
May 18, 2022
In The End of Life as We Know It: Ominous News from the Frontiers of Science, Dr. Michael Guillen presents a well-organized summary of humanity's most significant technological achievements related to the fourth industrial revolution. It includes chapters dedicated to computer networking, robotics, genetic engineering, and surveillance. He explains the past, present, and potential future of these technologies for each topic. Furthermore, he discusses the benefits and hazards associated with these advancements.
Dr. Guillen has a unique perspective as a life-long science lover, a physicist, and a Christian. He also has decades of experience as a journalist, specifically reporting on science and technology, enabling him to communicate these topics to the general population. As someone interested in the subject matter and has followed the developments of these fields for most of my life, I did not learn very much about our current capabilities and the direction in which we are headed. However, I found it refreshing to hear the perspective of an expert that is not a tech evangelist. The End of Life as We Know It is the first book I have read that thoroughly explores the science itself, the potential benefits, and the imminent dangers that these advances pose to life as we know it.
My main critique of the book is that the last chapter is executed clumsily and may repel people who need to contemplate these ideas the most. I agree with the author's sentiments, but I found the last chapter off-putting. The final chapter, which I interpret as his primary motivation for the entire book, discusses the need for scientists and engineers in the relevant fields to carefully consider our innate blindspots and inability to fully understand the complexity of the systems we are now able to modify. We need humility. Again, I agree with Dr. Guillen entirely on this matter. Yet, the last chapter does not succeed in expressing this to the intended audience. The focus abruptly switches from talking about science throughout the entire book to talking about religion in the last chapter. It's jarring.
Despite my critique, I think the book is worth reading and discussing. Just remember to brace yourself for the last chapter.
Dr. Guillen has a unique perspective as a life-long science lover, a physicist, and a Christian. He also has decades of experience as a journalist, specifically reporting on science and technology, enabling him to communicate these topics to the general population. As someone interested in the subject matter and has followed the developments of these fields for most of my life, I did not learn very much about our current capabilities and the direction in which we are headed. However, I found it refreshing to hear the perspective of an expert that is not a tech evangelist. The End of Life as We Know It is the first book I have read that thoroughly explores the science itself, the potential benefits, and the imminent dangers that these advances pose to life as we know it.
My main critique of the book is that the last chapter is executed clumsily and may repel people who need to contemplate these ideas the most. I agree with the author's sentiments, but I found the last chapter off-putting. The final chapter, which I interpret as his primary motivation for the entire book, discusses the need for scientists and engineers in the relevant fields to carefully consider our innate blindspots and inability to fully understand the complexity of the systems we are now able to modify. We need humility. Again, I agree with Dr. Guillen entirely on this matter. Yet, the last chapter does not succeed in expressing this to the intended audience. The focus abruptly switches from talking about science throughout the entire book to talking about religion in the last chapter. It's jarring.
Despite my critique, I think the book is worth reading and discussing. Just remember to brace yourself for the last chapter.
February 14, 2019
This book does a great job of connecting the reader to the discussion of technology and its impact on today’s society. The information is presented in a very readable and mostly bias-free style so that the reader is not forced to pick a side or only see one side of a story. Because the issues are so relevant, the reader is exposed to realities that exist today and could change our society forever. I found this book engaging and exciting to read because I had never heard of some of the technologies referenced, and immediately became fascinated in their real-life applications.
I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading about science and its impact on their life. If you like to learn about the near future and how influential it could be to society, then this book will be full of surprises, and even scares, that will have you asking more questions than you came with. Some technologies that you may have never heard or thought of are being invented as we speak, and Guillen does a great job of exposing and explaining them so that we are aware of their importance.
I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading about science and its impact on their life. If you like to learn about the near future and how influential it could be to society, then this book will be full of surprises, and even scares, that will have you asking more questions than you came with. Some technologies that you may have never heard or thought of are being invented as we speak, and Guillen does a great job of exposing and explaining them so that we are aware of their importance.
February 14, 2019
Overall, the book contained lots of factual information that was used in a way that allowed me to comprehend the topics that were talked about in a very logical way. I did not have any issues with following whatever was being discussed, even though much of the information provided bounced around from topic to topic very rapidly. The book was sectioned off in a way that allowed me to read about what I was looking for in specific and these sections were very distinct from each other; I found that the segments were isolated and did not really carry on from any information provided in previous segments. It was as if each segment was meant to stand alone and carry its own value but putting them all together allowed me to gain a very broad insight on the fate of our future in regards to technological and social advancements. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in gaining an insight into what our future could look like and the struggles that it could potentially bring.
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December 9, 2023Brief Review
Dr. Guillen’s fact based presentation of the wins and woes of technology present a clear and direct path to the absolute destruction of our world if we are not careful. We will have to be careful about the way we move forward or every science fiction movie will be right.
Why I Read this book
No idea. I am very much a judge a book by its cover person, sorry Mom, and I love the idea of artificial intelligence. This books cover is a cool robot. Why wouldn’t I read it?
Honestly, I have no idea where I found this book (audible recommended?) but I am immensely glad I did. Till the last chapter.
For more, go to https://boydsbar.xyz/the-end-of-life-...
Dr. Guillen’s fact based presentation of the wins and woes of technology present a clear and direct path to the absolute destruction of our world if we are not careful. We will have to be careful about the way we move forward or every science fiction movie will be right.
Why I Read this book
No idea. I am very much a judge a book by its cover person, sorry Mom, and I love the idea of artificial intelligence. This books cover is a cool robot. Why wouldn’t I read it?
Honestly, I have no idea where I found this book (audible recommended?) but I am immensely glad I did. Till the last chapter.
For more, go to https://boydsbar.xyz/the-end-of-life-...
February 24, 2020
This is a rare mix of both the wonders and the dangers of our fast approaching future. It's got some of the most cutting edge insights on technology and science, but also sobering examples of how they've already gone wrong.
Some folks see invention with no downside. This strikes me as naive. Some folks think we should then attempt to ban or strictly limit the invention. This strikes me as just as naive. This author is the first time I've read someone who sees a path forward with increasing innovation guided by deep wisdom--dealing with the dangers without giving up on the progress.
Some folks see invention with no downside. This strikes me as naive. Some folks think we should then attempt to ban or strictly limit the invention. This strikes me as just as naive. This author is the first time I've read someone who sees a path forward with increasing innovation guided by deep wisdom--dealing with the dangers without giving up on the progress.
April 7, 2022
This book does a great job of explaining what we can expect from the future, even though it was written almost 20 years ago. This book describes how AI and robots have the potential to take our jobs belt being better at analyzing data than humans are, and other tasks. The book also goes into the possibility of genetically modifying humans to create super humans which I find as an interesting moral dilemma because of the complications that come along with that. This book is an interesting read that I enjoyed.
September 16, 2023
I enjoy Michael Guillen’s fast-paced, engaging storytelling style. He mixes short personal experiences with factual information on past technological developments and modern developments such as the world wide web, robots and artificial intelligence, surveillance technology, and genetic engineering. He compares the benefits of these new technologies for humanity with the more disturbing and troubling side effects on individuals and society. “The end of life as we know it” is a captivating reading experience. Highly recommended.
November 1, 2021
Amazing research.
From a lifetime of study in the history of science Dr G has a perspective to see trends that I easily missed. Yet he doesn’t take an alarmist approach to declare all is lost. His recommendations are pragmatic and sensible for both Christians who see science as discovery of God’s amazing creation and those who just want to be responsible global citizens.
From a lifetime of study in the history of science Dr G has a perspective to see trends that I easily missed. Yet he doesn’t take an alarmist approach to declare all is lost. His recommendations are pragmatic and sensible for both Christians who see science as discovery of God’s amazing creation and those who just want to be responsible global citizens.
August 2, 2025
Michael Guillen hit a home run with this book .
I enjoyed this book very much. It was very well written and included all the links for his readers
to fact check his conclusions. Very thought provoking indeed. I will most definitely read more books by him. If you like history and science this one is for you.
I enjoyed this book very much. It was very well written and included all the links for his readers
to fact check his conclusions. Very thought provoking indeed. I will most definitely read more books by him. If you like history and science this one is for you.
October 18, 2023
Published in 2018 and already out dated! I enjoyed how he gave a history of his four areas (web, robot, spy, Frankenstein) and then discussed the pros and cons of each. I especially liked his conclusion.
December 9, 2018
Interesting look on the direction that it all could go. We definitely sell ourselves off pretty cheaply.
December 12, 2018
Author did a great job of presenting the facts and separately sharing his opinions.
December 20, 2018
An interesting overview of how far we've come and where our technological progress is taking us (perhaps whether we like it or not), but it offers little in the way of fresh insights.
October 6, 2021
Interesting book - feels unfocused, and the "ominous news" feels a little overblown in places. Good read.
February 12, 2023
One of the best i have read in past 2 years
February 21, 2023
A list of world's tech advances with no discussion, analysis, or proposals. Also, a bit too advertisingly Republican for my taste.
December 30, 2020
Geeft duidelijk de gevaren van de nieuwe tech ontwikkelingen. Maar de oplossing gaat teveel over god en christendom...
May 23, 2021
Good book
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews