With its vision of a bold future, Star Trek has captivated millions for decades. Its ideas of transporters and warp drives, of androids and holodecks have penetrated the cultural imagination.
Justin McLachlan, an award-winning journalist with an impressive knowledge of the mythology of Star Trek, explores the current state of our technology and what's waiting for us just on the horizon. With the help of experts in the fields of robotics, physics, artificial intelligence and more, he looks not just at the science behind Star Trek's technology, not just at our abilities and our challenges, but beyond the question of "can we?" to also ask, "should we?" How would humankind treat a race of androids? Would holodecks only isolate us in a world where human interaction doesn't exist? Can machines that learn ever be truly controlled? Should they be?
These questions are more important now than ever, as the pace of technological innovation outstrips even the imaginations of Star Trek's writers. What McLachlan finds in Treknology, an entertaining and though-provoking read, is that much of the Star Trek's tech and the questions it poses for mankind is not just within our scientific grasp, but much of it is already here—300 years ahead of the future.