Front cover: The Accelerating World, Speed vs. Control. 10 Years Later. The Age of AI. Earth surrounded by blue and gold light, with a person looking towards it.
10 years later · The Age of AI

A BOOK BY EMMANUEL CASSIMATIS

The Accelerating World:
Speed vs. Control

Ten years later. The age of AI.

As machines become more capable, will humanity become more capable—or simply more dependent?

In 2016, the question was whether humanity could steer the forces transforming its future. Ten years later, AI brings that question into classrooms, workplaces, hospitals and everyday decisions.

This book returns to the evidence, explores possible futures and asks what it would take to keep progress answerable to people.

A gift for curious mindsChristmas 2026 · Print & e-bookSee pre-order information →

COMING FOR CHRISTMAS 2026 · PRINT & E-BOOK

A gift for
curious minds.

For someone who wonders where AI is taking us—and how we can help shape the journey.

Give them ideas to explore, evidence to question and a conversation that lasts beyond Christmas.

Pre-order details coming soon

The sequel is coming for Christmas in print and e-book editions. Amazon pre-order links will appear here as soon as the listings are live.

Three free illustrated excerpts. Start with population, sand or the advances behind AI.

BE FIRST TO KNOW

Your next chapter
starts here.

Leave your email and Emmanuel will let you know when the book is available to order.

Coming for Christmas 2026 · Print & e-book

INSIDE THE BOOK

From the world we observe
to the future we choose.

01

Return to the evidence.

Population, the economy, technology, data, the environment, freedom and society, and health. Which expectations held up? Which trends changed direction? Who shared in the gains?

02

Understand the age of AI.

Explore the expanding capabilities of machines and the human capacities worth protecting: independent judgment, learning, responsibility and the ability to question.

03

Choose a direction.

Consider possible futures for human–AI coexistence and the safeguards needed to keep that partnership accountable. The objective is useful, sustainable progress at a pace we can govern.

READ BEFORE YOU BUY

Three ways into the book.

Explore three illustrated selections, free to read online or download. No account required.

Part I · Population

Population: more people, a different trajectory

A rising population and a slowing growth rate: why the long view and the recent view tell different parts of the story.

Read the excerpt →

Download PDF ↓

Part I · Environment

The sand beneath the growth

The familiar material beneath our cities reveals why abundance does not remove the need for limits and control.

Read the excerpt →

Download PDF ↓

Part II · How Machines Became Intelligent

Three advances that reinforced one another

Better data, better learning methods and better computation: three advances whose effects reinforce one another.

Read the excerpt →

Download PDF ↓

A FIRST LOOK · FROM THE BACK COVER

Can extraordinary intelligence be matched by the wisdom to choose its direction?

AI could help discover treatments, restore ecosystems and illuminate problems beyond any individual’s reach. It could also concentrate power and erode the judgment needed to question it. How can its capabilities support human freedom rather than deepen dependence?

Through revealing examples, accessible analysis and a number of possible futures, this book explores how humans and AI might grow wiser together—and the safeguards needed to keep that partnership accountable.

Progress means choosing a pace and direction that improves lives within the limits of the planet.

Adapted from the supplied back-cover introduction; this is not a chapter excerpt.

The back cover

Full supplied back-cover artwork, including the book introduction, the original 2016 cover and author biography.
Tap the back cover to view it full size.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emmanuel Cassimatis

Emmanuel Cassimatis is an entrepreneur and technology investor with over 20 years of experience spanning innovation, business and investment. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

His first book, The Accelerating World: Speed vs. Control, was published in 2016. This return to its central questions examines what a decade of change—and the arrival of AI—means for humanity’s ability to shape its future.