The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma

Book Introduction | The Coming Wave

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma

Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar | Crown Publishing Group | 2023

In recent years, discussions surrounding artificial intelligence have become almost unavoidable, extending from universities and think tanks to media outlets and the boardrooms of major technology companies. However, a significant portion of these debates has focused on a single question: What can artificial intelligence do?

In The Coming Wave, Mustafa Suleyman raises a different question: if emerging technologies have the potential to transform the structures of the economy, politics, security, and even human life itself, what mechanisms will exist to control them?

Suleyman is one of the few individuals who has played a direct role in the development of artificial intelligence while also becoming one of the most influential voices in the field of technology governance in recent years. This unique position has made his book more than a theoretical analysis or a political warning; it is the work of someone who has participated firsthand in shaping these technologies.

The central idea of the book is built around the concept of a “wave.” Suleyman argues that the world is approaching a wave of general-purpose technologies whose impact could rival the Industrial Revolution or the digital revolution. At the center of this wave are two transformative technologies: artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

From his perspective, the significance of these technologies does not lie solely in their technical advancements, but rather in the fact that they are becoming increasingly cheaper, more widespread, and more accessible. As a result, capabilities that were once restricted to governments or large organizations may gradually become available to a much broader range of actors.

This process creates enormous opportunities. Artificial intelligence has the potential to increase productivity, accelerate scientific discovery, and address some of humanity’s most complex challenges. Biotechnology, meanwhile, could transform disease treatment, food production, and resource management.

However, the same characteristics that make these technologies powerful also make them a source of concern. If highly advanced tools become widely accessible, how can governments prevent their misuse? If the pace of technological innovation surpasses the pace of regulation, which institutions will be responsible for managing their consequences?

Suleyman describes this challenge as the “containment problem.” In his view, virtually every significant technology in human history has eventually spread, making complete containment impossible. Yet with emerging technologies, the issue is not simply their diffusion; rather, it is the unprecedented scale of their potential consequences.

One of the most important sections of the book examines the relationship between technology and the state. Suleyman argues that modern governments were not designed to deal with technologies that evolve at such extraordinary speed. Many political institutions continue to operate according to twentieth-century assumptions, while new technologies are entering an entirely different phase of development.

As a result, a growing gap is emerging between governance capacity and technological capability. If this gap is not effectively managed, it could lead to extreme concentrations of power, political instability, or a weakening of governments’ ability to maintain control over critical processes.

An important aspect of Suleyman’s argument is that he does not view the solution as stopping innovation. Unlike some more pessimistic narratives, he believes technological development is both inevitable and, in many cases, necessary. The central challenge, in his view, is creating institutions, rules, and mechanisms capable of keeping these technologies within a manageable framework.

The significance of The Coming Wave for technopolitics studies lies in its examination of technology not as a purely technical issue, but as a political and strategic challenge. The book demonstrates that competition over emerging technologies is not merely a competition for innovation; it is a struggle over power, sovereignty, and the future structure of the global order.

Ultimately, The Coming Wave is a book about the future—but not a distant or speculative future. Suleyman examines transformations that have already begun and that will profoundly influence the structure of societies and states in the coming decades. For anyone seeking to understand one of the defining challenges of the technological age, few books are as significant as The Coming Wave.