Kia ora,
Well we’re nearly there!
⏩Fast Forward Aotearoa has gone to the printers…! Online orders for the first paperback edition are now open, with shipping expected from the end of April mid-May.
You can order your copy directly from the website here: https://ffwd.nz. Price is NZ$75 (incl. GST) per book for the 600-page, full-colour paperback edition, plus courier shipping within Aotearoa New Zealand.
The paperback also comes with a link to download a PDF of the book in full-colour, high resolution for reading online.
As a big thank you to ⏩Fast Forward Aotearoa subscribers and everyone who has already contributed when downloading the digital release, use the discount code FFWD10OFF when ordering to get NZ$10 off per copy.
Get In Early: the first 250 copies will be individually numbered and personally signed by author Ben Reid and AI artist Sam Ragnarsson whose stunning illustrations imagining the future of Aotearoa New Zealand are included throughout the book.
(For shipping outside Aotearoa New Zealand or wholesale order enquiries, please reach out directly by email.)
In 2024, you can feel the pace of technological development accelerating on a weekly basis - from artificial intelligence to virtual reality, robotics to nanotech, biological enhancement to space exploration - breakthroughs in emerging technologies are arriving into our lives and shaping the future we will live in. Ready or not.
The book lays out an outline for a new national technology strategy for New Zealand in the form of "10 missions and 100 technology solutions to ⏩Fast Forward Aotearoa".
In one image: “Aotearoa needs a national technology strategy to leverage new general purpose and applied technologies. A democratically-governed national technology investment portfolio should be established to begin building open-source technology solutions targeted at achieving future outcomes for human wellbeing and ecological flourishing, and addressing the multifaceted challenges of the global Polycrisis.”
The book contains over 40 original illustrations created by “AI whisperer” Sam Ragnarsson imagining the future of New Zealand. Here are just two of them:
Some early reviews so far:
"A techno-optimist’s manifesto...
Ben Reid may be 50 years ahead of most of us in his thinking, but ⏩Fast Forward Aotearoa presents a compelling case for why we urgently need to catch up.”- Peter Griffin, BusinessDesk
"New Zealand’s technology futurist, Ben Reid has recently published a remarkable book ⏩Fast Forward Aotearoa, sharing his multi-year research on emerging technology and the impact and implications on New Zealanders, our society and governance."
- Justin Flitter, NewZealand.ai
"The hive mind of Ben Reid has just released this cacophony on technology, natural capital and vision...his "10 missions and 100 technology solutions to ⏩Fast Forward Aotearoa" are a worthy inspection of decades of his global experience⚡️"
- Alex McCall, RegenerateNZ
Thank you for your support and engagement along the journey towards completing the first edition of this book - I hope that you find the research and insights contained within it interesting and practically useful. Please reach out any time with comments, questions, feedback and ideas!
Let’s use technology to create the future we want together: a regenerative, flourishing and more aspirational Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngā mihi nui
Ben
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