The invention of new tools has pushed humanity to new heights for millennia. But as the pace and power of technological change have accelerated over recent decades, so too have major societal challenges such as sagging health, pyrrhic connectivity, and ecological annihilation.

This leaves us facing tough questions: Have we lost sight of the short-term pain/long-term gain trade-off at the heart of human progress? By seeking technological quick fixes, are we simply spinning the innovation flywheel ever faster, exacerbating the very problems we’re trying to solve? And why do politicians not curb our self-destructive desire for instant gratification?

Tackling these issues to stave off the rising risk of societal collapse will be hard, but meaningful change always is.

Dominic H. King has been exploring socioeconomic trends for more than 20 years. After studying economics at Leeds and then Bath, he moved to London to work in public sector consultancy. More recently, he has been employed as a business researcher developing the commercial case for diversity and sustainability. He published three wildly unsuccessful YA fantasy books a decade ago and today lives in Bath, where he plays as much sport as his wife, two children and dog allow. He hates tiny trolley bags.

Customer Reviews

5.0

4 reviews

Daniel Shropshall

Tools or Traps is a sharp, well-researched take on the defining tensions of our time: our tendency to seek instant gratification over long-term fulfilment, and our habit of defaulting to short-termism even when we know better. These tensions are brought to life with a wealth of real-world case studies, and there is no shying away from hard truths - how frequently we lean on technology as a fix-all for problems that need more. Given all the noise around AI today, this is a must-read. Unlike so much else out there, this book doesn't give of a sense of doom, but there is no blind optimism either. It's a blueprint for moving forward with ambition as well as caution. And while much of the responsibility lies with governments and corporations, Tools or Traps is also a blueprint for us as individuals and communities, and what we can do to make the most of these tools, and avoid the traps.
Sebastian Moffett

Nails skilfully one of the most pressing challenges of our times: As technology advances, how can we avoid opting for so many easy fixes that we end up diminished? This book presents the hard decisions facing governments, businesses, parents – in fact, all of us.
Michela Coppola

What’s better to read during the third (!!!) heatwave of this summer, than a book about how our relationship with technological progress affects (among other things) our ability to act on climate change? Far from being a doomsayer or a tech-basher, Dominic King offers readers an original lens on some of the biggest challenges of our time. A light read on very serious topics, one that will leave you seeing things a little differently afterwards. I had the good fortune of being a beta reader for this book, an honour that let me get an early look at Dom’s thinking - one of the sharpest minds I know…and definitely one of the wittiest
Athena Peppes

Are you looking for your next book? Sitting in the garden soaking up the beautiful sunshine and I have just finished "Tools or Traps?" by Dominic King which I was lucky to get an advance copy of (thank you Dom!). As the title suggests, the book explores whether new technologies are tools or traps - and how difficult it is in fact to tell the difference. It starts by arguing that as technological progress accelerates, human progress is stalling. Dom raises three areas where this shows up: 1. Sagging health as we become more sedentary 2. Ecological annihilation as we overconsume 3. Pyrrhic connectivity as we become more polarised The question he goes on to unpack is WHY this is happening, and it's mainly down to two biases: our tendency to discount the future and our belief that technology will solve our problems. I found "Tools or traps?" unsettling. But it is also compelling and powerful. "As we get fatter, as the world burns, as society fragments, the reinforcing dangers of instant gratification combined with techno-optimism rise.... Relying on technological innovation to save us from technological innovation is perverse logic at best, insanity at worst." I finished it feeling more informed and also empowered about how even my small everyday actions can have an outsized influence on the world my 7 year old son will inherit. And I will never look at small trolley bags the same way ever again! If you are looking for your next book, this is it.