• The Industries of the Future

  • By: Alec Ross
  • Narrated by: Alec Ross
  • Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (3,049 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Industries of the Future  By  cover art

The Industries of the Future

By: Alec Ross
Narrated by: Alec Ross
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.49

Buy for $13.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Leading innovation expert Alec Ross explains what's next for the world, mapping out the advances and stumbling blocks that will emerge in the next 10 years - for businesses, governments, and the global community - and how we can navigate them.

While Alec Ross was working as Hillary Clinton's senior advisor on innovation, he traveled to 41 countries. He visited some of the toughest places in the world - from refugee camps of Congo to Syrian war zones. From phone-charger stands in Eastern Congo to R&D labs in South Korea, Ross has seen what the future holds.

Over the past two decades, the Internet has radically changed markets and businesses worldwide. In The Industries of the Future, Ross shows us what's next, highlighting the best opportunities for progress and explaining why countries thrive or sputter. He examines the specific fields that will most shape our economic future over the next 10 years, including cybercrime and cybersecurity; the commercialization of genomics; the next step for big data; and the coming impact of digital technology on money, payments, and markets. And 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 in creating their own innovation hotspots?

Ross blends storytelling and economic analysis to give a vivid and informed perspective on how sweeping global trends are affecting the ways we live, incorporating the insights of leaders ranging from tech moguls to defense experts. The Industries of the Future takes the intimidating, complex topics that many of us know to be important and boils them down into clear, plain-spoken language. This is an essential work for understanding how the world works - now and tomorrow - and a must-listen for businesspeople in every sector, from every country.

©2016 Alec Ross (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

What listeners say about The Industries of the Future

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,813
  • 4 Stars
    879
  • 3 Stars
    279
  • 2 Stars
    49
  • 1 Stars
    29
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,512
  • 4 Stars
    780
  • 3 Stars
    273
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    18
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,544
  • 4 Stars
    729
  • 3 Stars
    248
  • 2 Stars
    57
  • 1 Stars
    23

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

The book is a lot of things but surely not "the industries of the future". Alec Ross talks a lot about current technology trends and very little about the future of these technologies (with the exception maybe of Robotics), and definitely nothing about future technologies that may not be now known to the common public. He talks in details about Silicon Valley, and other attempts to establish similar technology concentration zones in the world (and why they fail). He talks a lot about the politics of Russia, China, India, and many other countries, as if the book was a Geo-political and technological analysis of the world.
The narration is the worst part of the book (even after all above negative feedback). Alec Ross should have given this to a professional narrator. This audio book should not be listen to while driving under any circumstance because you will fall asleep very quickly. Absolutely terrible. I would have given the book a zero star for this if possible.
You still get some benefit from the book but not for whatever the title hinted at.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

112 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Ok review of what is now. Not much future.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend a friend to read this book if they were not following current trends and events as a concise way to catch up to what is going on presently.

Have you listened to any of Alec Ross’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No.

Any additional comments?

This book is not so much a look over the horizon for what the industries will be but more a drive around the existing landscape stopping in to see what the demographics are, what people are working on, and why they think it might be important. People that follow technology, business, economics and global trends will not find much of the future in this book. For others, it can serve as a pretty good overview, but not much of predictor of what to expect for the future.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

88 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

be prepared ready or not it's going to happen ok

I'm 75 years old, and I thought it was breathtaking in terms of the world my grandchildren will live in. I think at least portions of it should be read by everyone interested in the future

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Enlightening

This was an interesting book that looks at what fields are heading for a breakthrough and which ones are on the way out or will require less people in the future. Ross was an advisor to the State Department under Secretary Clinton. Ross traveled too many countries to learn about industrial development. Ross describes how Indonesia, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Mexico are positioning themselves in the global economy. He also describes how Africa is starting to emerge as governments become more stable and civil wars are ending. I was surprised to learn about the mobile telecom companies in Africa and how that is changing people’s lives. I found the information about Estonia fascinating; children learning to code starting in grade one.

Ross identifies certain industries that are key drivers of change. The author devotes chapters to robotics, cyber warfare and advanced life sciences such as genetics. Ross states that any country that does not empower women will fall behind.
At the end of the book Ross discusses how to prepare children to enter the vastly changing workplace coming up. For the science aware person most of this in not new information but for those who are not science aware this might be new and helpful information. Alex Ross did a good job narrating the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Some good points, boring mostly

Insights are pretty common sense if you are up-to-date on trends. Really needs a better voice-over than the monotoned authors voice.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The most exciting book about the future I've read.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The topic of the future can be approached in a countless number of ways, some more interesting than others. The author makes his topics exciting, interesting and digestible. It's like a really good meal you don't want to end.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Being able to look into the future is a gift. The author seems to have an incredible ability much like Vanderbilt or Rockerfeller to understand the needs of the country and the people decades before they do.

What about Alec Ross’s performance did you like?

He has a really good reading voice. He keeps the listener engaged.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

That in Japan soon there are going to be more elderly people then young people. The government is working on creating robots who can help the elderly. Things like getting out of bed, washing ones hair and even just for companionship.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Ross is intelligent, but obviously he is on the inside track of what other countries are working towards. He has a unique insight into what entrepreneurs and governments are doing in different countries and markets, around the world. I give this book 2 thumbs up... I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent book

eye opening . enjoyed every bit if the book. I particularly loved the factual aspect of the book where there was a clear distinction between the facts and the sole interpretations of the writer. highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Adapt or perish

I think Alex is right about a lot of the book, but the idea that little Silicon Valleys are going to spring up where there is domain expertise seems unlikely. The knowledge to build those big data systems is moving too fast to distribute, there are dozens of Apache projects that need to play well together for this to happen. For those with domain expertise to build on it the rate of technology change would have to slow down...otherwise you need a critical mass of big data experts. That seems to be the domain of Silicon Valley and the author doesn't propose a way for it to change, or a hypothesis for big data technology to plateau for some time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thought Provoking

I like books that challenge my thinking and this book did that. I think it contains good content and was enjoyable to listen to.

It doesn't really matter to me if Alec is correct in his prognostication. He provides enough information to support his predictions so that the reader can synthesize that information and extend it to other domains. The "why" behind his selection of industries is the most important aspect to apply to changing markets in support of The Innovator's Dilemma.

Read this if you want a glimpse into the future or read it if you want a thought catalyst in support of current markets.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

More than a glimpse - a look into the future

This book comes from a man with firsthand knowledge. I use the terms "he smells like the sheep while also flying at 35,000 feet." Being so up close allows him to speak of what is yet he has drawn from what he has seen to see what might be! On one hand the reading leaves one excited about the future. On the other hand one is challenged to prepare oneself for involvement in this new world. Incredibly insightful and useful for anyone involved in creating the future!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful