ZIO is a library for asynchronous and concurrent programming that provides a simpler alternative to Scala's Future and Promise. It allows for composable asynchronous and concurrent code through pure functions. Some key advantages of ZIO over Future include improved error handling, cancellation support, and referential transparency. The document discusses various features of ZIO and provides examples of how it can be used for real-world asynchronous tasks like retrying requests, running periodic processes, and coordinating distributed queries.