David Wortley FRSA
Gadgets
to
God
Reflections on our Changing Relationship with Technology
Where once we were masters,
we may now become slaves.
Written in 2011 — before social media addiction, algorithmic manipulation, and AI
Hear the Opening
Listen to David read
the first pages.
Before you buy, hear the author himself open the book — a Lincolnshire boyhood, a steam engine on the line below Wyberton, and fifty years of watching technology reshape what it means to be human.
≈ 10 minutes · read by the author
The Book
A book that reads,
in 2026, like prophecy.
In 2011, David Wortley sat down and wrote a quiet warning. He described how social media would hijack our attention, how algorithms would begin making decisions for us, how our dependency on digital technology was deepening in ways most people had not yet noticed.
He called it the "boiling frog" effect — we were changing so gradually, so comfortably, that we would not realise what we had lost until it was too late.
That book is this one.
Gadgets to God is an autobiographical journey through more than fifty years of technological change, told by someone who lived every chapter of it. Born in post-war Lincolnshire into a home without a telephone, a television, or a car, David grew up to witness — and shape — every major technological revolution of the modern era.
The result is something rare: a memoir that is also a provocation, a love letter to human ingenuity that is also a serious warning about where we are headed.
Written for
Digital Natives who have never known a world without the internet — and Digital Immigrants who lived through the transition.
Themes
Technology & humanity · AI dependency · Social media · Virtual worlds · Healthy ageing · The future of civilisation
Tone
Warm, witty, deeply personal. Like a wise friend across a pub table — not a lecture.
Available as
Kindle ebook ($8.99) · Paperback — now available on Amazon
Inside the Book
Ten Chapters.
Fifty Years. One Warning.
A Note from David
I wrote this book in 2011 because I could see something happening that most people around me could not quite name. We were falling in love with our devices in a way that felt, to me, uncomfortably familiar — the same gradual, comfortable surrender I had watched happen with every technology before it. The frog, slowly warming.
I did not expect to be right about quite so much of it.
Reading these pages again in 2026, with AI reshaping how we work, think, and relate to one another, I feel less like a prophet and more like someone who simply paid attention. The patterns were always there. They still are.
That is why this book matters more now than when I wrote it — not because the future has arrived, but because we still have choices about what we do next.
David Wortley FRSA
Keynote Speaker · Futurist · Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
About the Author
77. No medication.
Still walking five miles a day.
David Wortley FRSA has spent fifty years at the intersection of technology and human potential. A keynote speaker who has addressed audiences across six continents, he is a pioneer in wearable health technology, digital twins, and immersive learning environments.
He is a Visiting Researcher at Bournemouth University, Project Supervisor at UCL's Global Business School for Health, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
At 77, with no medication and exceptional personal health, David doesn't just speak about the future of human-technology balance — he lives it.
What Readers Said
Readers called it
a must-read.
First published in 2012, Gadgets to God drew eight verified Amazon reviews — five five-star, three four-star, averaging 4.6 out of 5. Not one fell below four stars.
“This book is a must read. Wortley delivers thought-provoking prognosticated pathways and principles that provide a delightful denouement.”
Dr. Tim Foresman
Digital Earth & geospatial pioneer
“An important book — a marvelous journal filled with life stories dedicated to the passionate pursuit of technology. I highly recommend it.”
E.M. Kaye
Founder, Association of Virtual Worlds
“A must-read. A journey through the gadgets and technologies that have changed the way we live, work and play.”
Eliane Alhadeff
Serious Games thought leader
“I loved this book. A nostalgic look back at the rise of the machine and a peek into the digital future. It made me laugh out loud several times.”
Jacqueline Cawston
Serious Games Institute
“I could not put it down! A smorgasbord of interesting anecdotes and IT history — a valuable record of a pivotal time.”
Sally Ann Moore
International IT conference organiser
“You can't help but be warmed by David's humour, passion and joie de vivre. A fascinating read about technology and the ups and downs of a human life.”
Vicky
Amazon reviewer
Get the Book
If you have ever wondered
how we got here —
This book was written for you. Then. And even more urgently, now.
Bring David to Your Stage
The voice behind the book,
live in the room.
David delivers keynote presentations and storytelling workshops across six continents — on AI and humanity, healthy ageing, digital transformation, and the future of technology. No slides, no script-reading. Just fifty years of lived wisdom, told with warmth and wit.
Enquire about booking Daviddavid@davidwortley.com