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The Industries of the Future

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 The New York Times bestseller, from leading innovation expert Alec Ross, a “fascinating vision” (Forbes) of what’s next for the world and how to navigate the changes the future will bring.

While Alec Ross was working as Senior Advisor for Innovation to the Secretary of State, he traveled to forty-one countries, exploring the latest advances coming out of every continent. From startup hubs in Kenya to R&D labs in South Korea, Ross has seen what the future holds.

In The Industries of the Future, Ross provides a “lucid and informed guide” (Financial Times) to the changes coming in the next ten years. He examines the fields that will most shape our economic future, including robotics and artificial intelligence, cybercrime and cybersecurity, the commercialization of genomics, the next step for big data, and the impact of digital technology on money and markets. In each of these realms, Ross addresses the toughest questions: How will we have to adapt to the changing nature of work? Is the prospect of cyberwar sparking the next arms race? How can the world’s rising nations hope to match Silicon Valley with their own innovation hotspots? And what can today’s parents do to prepare their children for tomorrow?

Ross blends storytelling and economic analysis to show how sweeping global trends are affecting the ways we live. Sharing insights from global leaders—from the founders of Google and Twitter to defense experts like David Petraeus—Ross reveals the technologies and industries that will drive the next stage of globalization. The Industries of the Future is “a riveting and mind-bending book” (New York Journal of Books), a “must read” (Wendy Kopp, Founder of Teach for America) regardless of “whether you follow these fields closely or you still think of Honda as a car rather than a robotics company” (Forbes). Future Studies History & Culture International Politics & Government Social Sciences Technology & Society Technology Business Innovation Africa Thought-Provoking Artificial Intelligence Cyber Warfare Capitalism War Silicon Valley Refugee Imperial Japan Socialism Russia Computer Science Computer Security Future Technology

Critic reviews

"In a world growing more chaotic, Alec Ross is one of those very rare people who can see patterns in the chaos and guidance for the road forward. He has an unusual diversity of expertise that allows him to apply multiple lenses to the world's challenges and dream up the kind of innovative solutions that are changing the world."
—Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google and author of The New Digital Age
“A fascinating vision of the future of industry. The Industries of the Future reads like a portable TED conference at which you have been seated next to the smartest guy in the room. The book is filled with glimpses of cutting-edge biotech research, statecraft, and entrepreneurship. Ross writes engagingly, and the book should be compelling whether you follow these fields closely or you still think of Honda as a car rather than a robotics company.”
—Forbes
"The next 20 years are going to be even faster-moving and more transformative than the 20 we just lived through. Predicting exactly what is going to happen is impossible. But thinking systematically and strategically, as Alec Ross does here, about robotics, genomics, and the codification of everything is absolutely critical. Anyone who wants to understand the key forces that are shaping our economic, political, and social futures will benefit hugely from Ross's insights."
—Reid Hoffman, Founder & Chairman, LinkedIn
“It will likely be one of 2016’s most talked about releases, and I predict will take its place alongside other classic tech-and-society books, like Tim Wu’s Master Switch and Jonathan Zittrain’s Future of the Internet. It’s that good. His writing reveals not just where industries are heading, but where entire societies may end up as a result. This is important reading. Ross takes on an enormous challenge of making sense of how new technology is changing the world, and does so incredibly well, by any standard.”
—Medium
"This book is a must read for the rising generation and their concerned parents and educators. Alec Ross brings a far-reaching perspective to bear in illustrating the opportunities to be seized in our changing world—across sectors and the globe—and the kind of preparation that will be important to make the most of them."
—Wendy Kopp, Founder of Teach For America and CEO of Teach For All
“A riveting and mind-bending book. If you want to know how to survive and thrive in the fast-paced world of today and how to anticipate the opportunities of tomorrow’s information age as well as how to solve big mysteries, this is a good place to start.”
—New York Journal of Books
"A lucid and informed guide, even on the most technical issues."
—Financial Times
All stars
Most relevant
This book opened my mind to a vast new world of opportunities for a threatening and uncertain near future. Thank you Alec Ross!

Enjoyable and enlightening!

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Fascinating book covering moat of the possible innovations on the horizon, bur I found slight politically biased/loaded from an American perspective but otherwise a fantastic book

Great book but politically biased/loaded

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Interesting insight into the possibilities of the near future and where we're going. Never goes to deep, but always insightful.

Good insight.

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Good narration, well documented, clear storyline
A well worth read for anyone
First chapter only might seem a bit dull

Extremely well documented

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Alec Ross through his experiences in US government has had the exposure to be able to interact with the shapers of opportunities and challenges of technology at a global scale.

He is able to describe very disparate types of sciences, including genomics and AI, giving a credible account of how these fields are likely to change society and our lifestyles.

What I found refreshing is that this book does not only touch on the West's challenges, he puts them in context at a global scale. Countries in Africa are also up for a technological revolution as it becomes ever more pervasive and resilient to government tyrants.

A must read for those who want to have a glimpse of what we are likely to experience in the coming decades.

A invaluable guide for those who want to understand the economy of the future

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