The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century's Greatest Dilemma By Mustafa Suleyman (with Michael Bhaskar)

 


What if I told you that the future we’ve all been waiting for is already knocking, not politely, but like a storm pounding on a fragile door? Mustafa Suleyman’s The Coming Wave doesn’t just whisper about tomorrow. It thunders. Loudly.

This isn’t your average “tech-will-change-the-world” manifesto. No. This book is part prophetic vision, part wake-up call, and all substance. Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind (yes, the AI firm that Google gobbled up), is no casual commentator. He’s been at the nerve center of AI’s rapid evolution, and he’s sounding the alarm.

🌊 The Tidal Forces Are Not Just Coming… They’re Crashing In

The “wave” in this book is not singular. It’s a collision of technologies—artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, quantum computing, and more—set to reshape how we live, govern, learn, and even wage war. And here’s the kicker: these technologies are becoming so powerful, so accessible, that containing their impact will be like trying to stop a hurricane with an umbrella.

You read that right.

“Soon, the ability to reprogram life itself will be in the hands of thousands. The consequences? Unknowable.”
— Suleyman

That quote isn't there to impress it’s there to unsettle.

🧠 Why Should a Career-Oriented Nigerian, African, or Global Reader Care?

Because this isn’t just a book for policymakers or Silicon Valley insiders. It’s for the teacher wondering if AI will replace the classroom, the civil servant grappling with outdated tech infrastructure, the young professional caught between ambition and automation, and the student whose future job may not even exist yet.

Suleyman reminds us that careers are no longer ladders. They're waves. And you either learn to ride them or get swept under.

⚖️ Ethics, Power, and a Bit of Paranoia

What makes The Coming Wave riveting is its tension. It sits at the uneasy intersection of possibility and peril. Suleyman doesn’t demonize technology, far from it. He celebrates innovation. But he’s haunted (and he haunts us) with questions like

(a) Who controls these emerging powers?

(b) Can we govern something we barely understand?

(c) What happens when malicious actors use cheap, advanced tools to hack not just systems, but societies?

There’s a particularly chilling section on bioengineered pandemics, a scenario so real it gave me pause. Remember COVID-19? Imagine a virus customized on a laptop. It's a lot. It's too much. And that's the point.

📚 Style and Substance

This book is surprisingly readable. It weaves big ideas with personal anecdotes and real-world examples. The prose? Clean, punchy, occasionally poetic. There's rhythm burstiness, if you will. Long passages of technical reflection are broken by vivid, human moments. It feels like you're being briefed by someone who knows too much and is trying—urgently—to help you catch up.

🌍 Localizing the Wave: Nigeria, Africa, and the Global South

Here’s where you, my reader, must lean in.

For too long, the Global South has been tech-receiving, not tech-shaping. Suleyman’s work begs the question: What role will we play in the coming wave? Will we design our own future or remain digital colonies in a neo-tech empire?

It’s a provocation worth pondering in classrooms, boardrooms, and policy circles across Africa.

🔍 Final Verdict

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

Read this if:

(i) You’re curious about the future but tired of sugar-coated optimism.

(ii) You want to future-proof your career, thinking, and civic responsibility.

(iii) You're interested in international security, policy, or ethics.

Skip this if:

(i) You’re looking for a step-by-step tech manual or easy answers.

(ii) You prefer fiction or memoirs to heavy-hitting ideas.

💬 Let’s Talk

Have you read The Coming Wave? How do you see AI and emerging tech reshaping careers, politics, or education in Nigeria? Drop a comment or share this review. The wave is here, and talking about it might just be how we learn to surf


******NextGen Spectrum*****

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