The Industries of the Future

By Alec Ross

This book answers the question: 'What's next?' The Internet had a world-changing impact on businesses and the global community over the twenty years from 1994 to 2014. In the next ten years, change will happen even faster.

As Hillary Clinton's Senior Advisor for Innovation, Alec Ross travelled nearly a million miles to forty-one countries, the equivalent of two round-trips to the moon. From refugee camps in the Congo and Syrian war zones, to visiting the world's most powerful people in business and government, Ross's travels amounted to a four-year masterclass in the changing nature of innovation.

In The Industries of the Future, Ross distils his observations on the forces that are changing the world. He highlights the best opportunities for progress and explains how countries thrive or sputter. Ross examines the specific fields that will most shape our economic future over the next ten years, including robotics, artificial intelligence, the commercialization of genomics, cybercrime and the impact of digital technology.

Blending storytelling and economic analysis, he answers questions on how we will need to adapt. Ross gives readers a vivid and informed perspective on how sweeping global trends are affecting the ways we live, now and tomorrow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Feb 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781471135279

Alec Ross

Alec Ross is one of America’s leading experts on innovation. He served for four years as Senior Advisor for Innovation to the Secretary of State. He is currently a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and serves as an advisor to investors, corporations, and government leaders. Ross lives in Baltimore with his wife and their three young children. He is the author of The Industries of the Future.

Reviews for The Industries of the Future

[droider-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent book on the most promising industries that include robotics, genomics, cyber-security and analytics. For each industry, the book described the current state and challenges that will be facing us. For instance, robotics will lead more job losses, genomics will lead to the reappearance of extinct animals. Cybersecurity on how chinese are stolen intellectual properties for decades from western companies creating an new kind of wars between countries and companies!! And how analytics has been used in new zealand, Africa to transform agriculture. This books is full of facts not just ideas which further enforce the author thesis.

[dlmorrese · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The world is changing, and, in general, for the better. Global hunger and poverty are down, and opportunities are being extended to people and places that never had them before. But the technology that helps make all this happen also creates challenges. The jobs and industries of today are different from those of our parents' time, and those of the future will differ from the ones that exist now. The nations that once dominated the global economy no longer will, at least not to such a great extent. A global marketplace of goods, services, and ideas is emerging.

In this book, Alex J. Ross shares some of his observations as the former Senior Advisor for Innovation to the US Secretary of State (among other things). He tells us about Estonia, the little nation that could, and did. He talks about nations that could but didn't, held back by outdated notions of centralized control or repressive cultures. He talks about emerging nations in which simple access to cell phones and locally developed applications for them have created new opportunities for many people. He provides no in depth analysis for any of these, and his first-hand observations come across as little more than anecdotal (and carefully worded) accounts, but his general conclusions seem sound enough.

In this new world, developing, sharing, and using information is the key to success. Nations that provide broad access to education and modern, stable infrastructures, which empower their citizens and attract new businesses, will succeed. Those that fail to do so will not.

[onyeka okonji · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well researched. Mr Alec Ross gave an in-depth analysis into his view of the industries of the future and also answering any questions one’s curious minds may have about each future industry. It’s also quite an eye-opener and gives every one in the valley of darkness about what step to pursue in life, a sense of direction - only if we have the courage to do so.