The Future Starts Now: Expert Insights into the Future of Business, Technology and Society

by Theo Priestley, Bronwyn Williams

Featuring contributions from an international array of futurists, The Future Starts Now provides fascinating insights and guidance into how society and business will transform in the years to come.The future is an uncertain, uncomfortable prospect for employees, employers and society at large. A flurry of unprecedented events have proven that, despite what some politicians and economists may tell us, the future is not set in stone. Instead, it is constantly being shaped and redefined by the everyday decisions of individuals and organizations.In light of this uncertainty, The Future Starts Now looks toward the various innovations and technologies that may shape our future. Authors Theo Priestley and Bronwyn Williams have brought together the world's leading futurists to articulate and clarify the current trajectories in technology, economics, politics and business. This is a comprehensive history of tomorrow, with guidance, insight and predictions that are fascinating for those curious about what the future may hold, as well as business professionals looking to steer their career or their organization with foresight and confidence.

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 15, 2021

About the author

Theo is a former leading futurist, globally recognised author and public keynote speaker on the convergence of many emerging technology and business trends.

Having spent the last two decades writing non-fiction and business-related topics spanning over 500 articles he has now turned his attention to speculative fiction - with a particular penchant for weaving dark and twisted short stories in the same vein as The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits.

He has previously published two non-fiction books on business and technology trends and more recently, in 2025, a self-published anthology of short stories, "Writer's Block and Other Tales of the Unexpected".

He is also working on his first science fiction fantasy novel, based on an idea and universe he created in 2018 as part of a video game project.

Theo lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and three cats.

Reviews

[Alireza Hejazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The future is uncertain, and contrary to what some people may assume, it is not fixed. This level of uncertainty motivates professional futurists to envision scientific and technological breakthroughs that will help build better futures. In a world that is growing more volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA), two budding futurists, Priestley and Williams (2021) asked 20 futurists and future thinkers to join them and ponder on alternate futures of business, technology, and society. They have provided intriguing insights and recommendations about how societies and industries will change in the next years. They have imagined gloomy and rosy futures where we don’t want to live, as well as those where we do. They have organized their ideas into five parts and 20 chapters of this book. They have proposed some practical measures that we can put in place right now to ensure that we end up with the futures we desire for ourselves and our dependents. Their discussions throughout the book span a wide variety of subjects, including eugenics, unnatural selection, immortality, the future of employment in the light of artificial intelligence (AI), universal basic income, and augmented reality, and the future of governments, economies, and civilizations in general in a more compromised and unequal world.

[LJ Lombos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Complete waste of time and money. It's just a bunch of LinkedIn-esque articles that could be summed up in a nicely written long-form blog post. Also needs some serious editing due to how messy the contents are organized.

It's also ironic how at the start of the book it promises not to dwell too much on the speculative in contrast to other futurism-themed books but then goes on to pile loads of it. It's also unfair for the authors to splash their names on the cover of the book when they only wrote a measly slice of the entire book's content and outsourced the rest to highly-qualified experts who could have used their own platforms to expound on their knowledge instead of limiting themselves to a few sheets.

If you are more interested in a more in-depth look at what the future holds, I highly recommend that you do your homework and invest more in books that deep dive on a specific topic that interests you rather than picking up overly generic reads.

[Yonnique · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy, inspiring read

This book inspires change for the good we want to experience in the world! The chapters are short and thought provoking, and many left me feeling anxious, scared, excited, and motivated all at the same time!

[Daniel M20 Blackburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some interesting essays spanning a good range of topics. Party liked the education section, there does need to be radical reform of education and that section raised great points.
Overall a good collection of differing thoughts. Worth a read and I would recommend

[Belinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The point of this book is good but there are many unnecessary fillers and it could be written shorter from my perspective

[Carlee Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and how it asked the readers to explore the extreme polarities of utopian futures versus dystopian futures. It gave me a lot to think about in terms of personal responsibility for what you want the future to be and how to shape that with the collective. I also liked how the book had multiple viewpoints as each chapter featured a different futurist.