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Over the centuries, we have learned to peer into what was once invisible. Imaging devices like cameras, telescopes, microscopes, and MRI machines map the world around, beyond, and within us in ways the naked eye could never see. In so doing, these technologies have transformed our understanding of our place in the universe and our conception of our own bodies—and we may be on the cusp of an even greater revolution.
Daniel K. Sodickson—a physicist and biomedical imaging innovator—explores the rich history and surprising future of vision, from the evolution of eyes to emerging high-tech devices. Beginning in the early oceans, when organisms first developed sight, The Future of Seeing tells the stories of the many remarkable tools people have invented to extend our natural vision. Ranging from the tales of brilliant inventors to profiles of everyday people, this book shows how imaging has transformed the practice of medicine, reshaped the global economy, and complicated the notion of privacy. In the era of artificial intelligence, Sodickson argues, it will be reinvented even further, emulating not only our senses but also our brains. Inviting and eye-opening, The Future of Seeing is a revelatory look at what imaging teaches us about the way we see the world, each other, and ourselves.
Must-Read Harvard Books Winter 2025
Daniel K. Sodickson is a celebrated pioneer of medical imaging, particularly magnetic resonance imaging and the application of modern AI to medical image analysis and reconstruction. In this lucid and eloquent journey through the world of pixels and voxels, he explains how allowing humans and machines to see the unseeable is changing the world.
— Yann LeCun, chief AI scientist at Meta and 2018 Turing Award winner
The ability to see clearly has always provided a key competitive advantage. In the modern world, imaging connects medicine, science, and commerce. The Future of Seeing shows how it is now poised to transform all three. There is something in this thoughtful and beautifully written book for history buffs, tech enthusiasts, and humanists alike.
— Ken Langone, medical philanthropist, cofounder of Home Depot, and author of I Love Capitalism!: An American Story
The crux of AI’s transformation of medicine is that digital machine ‘eyes’ see things in images that we humans can’t. That’s just one example of how Sodickson, a leading and hyperinnovative imaging scientist, provides a very thoughtful, futuristic vision—for seeing!
— Eric Topol, author of Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity
The Future of Seeing revolves around the fundamental idea of seeing, how we have augmented that ability, and how seeing will evolve in the future. Sodickson beautifully and brilliantly guides us to be aware of seeing and imaging as what they really are: the mapping out of information in a way that is useful to us.
— Peter A. Bandettini, chief of the Section on Functional Imaging Methods, National Institute of Mental Health
Paints a very thoughtful map of where we’re heading. Literally, the book is eye opening. I wish I could get it in the hands of every college student.
‘The Leonardo da Vinci of healthcare.’ His name is Dr. Daniel Sodickson.
Whether biological, optical, or digital, the power to ‘see the invisible’ has profoundly shaped medicine, knowledge, and social relations. Our book of the week explores the past and future of imaging technologies.
Sodickson—a medical-imaging pioneer and former Harvard Medical School faculty member—takes us back, way back, to the evolution of eyes and the history of medicine. [He] instills an appreciation for the ‘millennia of innovation’ in our quest for new ways of seeing.
Prologue: An Imager’s Perspective
Introduction: The Story of Imaging
Part I. Looking Back: The History of Imaging
1. The Nature of Seeing
2. Augmenting Nature
3. Seeing It Through
4. Slicing Without Cutting
5. What’s In an Image?
6. Pushing the Limits
7. A Community of Imagers
8. Imaging for Everyone?
Part II. Looking Forward: The Future of Imaging
9. Emulating the Senses: From Snapshots to Streaming
10. Emulating the Brain: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Imaging
11. No More Tunnel Vision: Imaging for Everyone, Everywhere
12. The Future of Seeing
Epilogue: The Continuing Story of Imaging
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index