19/04/2024
It's been so exciting to finally be able to share the cover for my upcoming book, Tech Agnostic. I cut back to half-time over five years ago, so I could dedicate as much time and energy as possible to making this, as I believe it is, the best work I've ever done professionally, on *anything.*
Of course, five years is only about a quarter of the time that I've been here, on this website that I joined as "The Facebook," right after arriving at Harvard as a young chaplain almost twenty years ago now. Back then, I had quite elaborate ambitions, as one of only a few people in all of North America to hold the title "humanist chaplain." Specifically, I hoped and believed it could be possible to create a secular community, by and for humanists, atheists, agnostics, and allies, that would connect the world in some of the same ways that religious communities did and do, as well as some new ways. I wrote all about this in my book Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, and when that book amazingly became a New York Times bestseller, I ultimately decided to double down on this community-building goal and start a congregation. Towards which we raised funds well into the seven figures, from thousands of donors and supporters, and held not far from a couple of thousand meetings over the course of a decade of work -- often with lines out the door to get in, and/or with passionate teams of amazing volunteers leading the way. It was extraordinarily challenging but also very rewarding work. We had a lot of success together, to say the least.
But what happens when a website like this one beats a group like ours to the punch? Mark Zuckerberg, after all, *also* set out to "connect the world" in new ways. And indeed, he did. I'm certainly not saying his efforts were all to the good. I don't know that I would even say Facebook and Meta have been a net good for the world (sorry, Facebook friends!). I do, however, have to acknowledge the extraordinary power that the world of tech has amassed. So much so that, now that I've come to see tech as a kind of religion unto itself, I would have to say it is now the world's most powerful religion.
As I shared elsewhere a couple of days ago, the argument in my subtitle is a big claim to have to justify. But if it's got you at all curious, don't worry: It's going to be a fun and meaningful ride making and discussing the case. Meanwhile, enjoy the image, which is not quite but nearly final...the doomscrolling cherub was my idea!
I can't wait to share the book with you. Mark your calendar. It goes on sale 10/29/24! You can pre-order your copy now. If you're a Barnes and Noble person, you can even get a 25-35% discount on pre-orders now, via a special sale that ends today, Friday 4/19. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books/_/N-26Z29Z8q8
've been delighted that so many people have already pre-ordered the book in just a couple of days! Please keep that going!
You can read more about the book, and pre-order, at The MIT Press site: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262049207/tech-agnostic/; or via Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/757138/tech-agnostic-by-greg-m-epstein/
Thanks so much!
