In On the Future, astrophysicist Martin Rees surveys humanity’s most thrilling and terrifying century yet. As our tools grow more powerful—AI, biotechnology, geoengineering—so do the risks they bring. The same technologies that could cure disease or stabilize the climate might also enable catastrophe in a tightly connected world.

Rees argues that survival now depends less on invention and more on wisdom: building resilience, global cooperation, and a culture that manages risk before crisis hits. He’s optimistic about science but wary of hubris, urging humility when we tinker with complex systems we barely understand.

Even space, he reminds us, won’t save us soon—it should teach us perspective, not provide an escape. On the Future is both a warning and a rallying call: if we act with foresight, this century could be remembered not for collapse, but for conscious stewardship.