The turbulent 2020s

Alec Ross, one of the world’s leading experts on innovation, explains what is set to happen in the world over the next ten years. Combining storytelling with economic analysis, he offers a vivid and well-researched perspective on how sweeping global trends are shaping the way we live, highlighting the obstacles that will emerge and how we can tackle them. As Senior Innovation Advisor to the US Department of State, he worked with Hillary Clinton, travelled to forty-one countries, investigating the latest developments on every continent, and as such knows well what the future holds. In the book, Ross highlights the best opportunities for development, explaining why countries prosper or decline economically. He also examines the sectors that will shape our economic future, including robotics, cybersecurity, the commercialisation of genomics, the next step for big data, and the impending impact of digital technology on currency and markets. The Industries of the Future is an essential book for understanding how our world works today and how it will work tomorrow, ideal reading for professionals in every sector and country.

Companies — for better or worse — have been shaping our daily lives for more than two centuries. It all began with the Industrial Revolution. Subsequently, states sought to control the growing influence of businesses and entrepreneurs, whilst citizens were able to choose their leaders. This balance has held until today. In the 2020s, however, the balance has been upset. The market is monopolised by a handful of multinationals, which are growing to gigantic proportions: in the US, the dividing line between Walmart, the world’s largest retail chain, and the corridors of Congress is blurred. This unchecked phenomenon is affecting every country in the world. It is increasingly in the interests of businesses to act as nations — and thus to invest in defence, foreign trade agreements, artificial intelligence, and the collection and use of data. Over the next ten years, our lives will change radically. Alec Ross is well versed in the rules governing new technologies and driving the existential, political and economic transformation we are undergoing. As one of the leading experts on innovation, the author reveals the logic behind the power of the tech giants and recounts fascinating stories about the new era of monopolies. At the same time, he lays the foundations for a new social contract, capable of meeting the needs of workers and citizens in the face of an unprecedented global revolution.