The relationship between humans and technology is one of immense progress. It encompasses many life-changing inventions such as fire and electricity, which have had a positive impact on humanity overall. But technology is developing so rapidly that we rarely take a moment to reflect on whether we are shaping technology or whether it is shaping us.How much do you know about key technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and the internet of things? And do you understand ...

A New York Times Bestseller. A “fascinating” (Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times) look at how digital technology is transforming our work and our lives.In recent years, Google’s autonomous cars have logged thousands of miles on American highways and IBM’s Watson trounced the best human Jeopardy! players. Digital technologies—with hardware, software, and networks at their core—will in the near future diagnose diseases more accurately than ...

The New York Times–bestselling author describes how current trends will create an era when anything and everything is available for almost nothing.In The Zero Marginal Cost Society, New York Times–bestselling author Jeremy Rifkin uncovers a paradox at the heart of capitalism that has propelled it to greatness but is now taking it to its death—the inherent entrepreneurial dynamism of competitive markets that drives productivity up and marginal costs...

“A clear and crisply written account of machine intelligence, big data and the sharing economy. But McAfee and Brynjolfsson also wisely acknowledge the limitations of their futurology and avoid over-simplification.” —Financial TimesIn The Second Machine Age, Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson predicted some of the far-reaching effects of digital technologies on our lives and businesses. Now they’ve written a guide to help readers make the most of...

“Magisterial. . . . Draws an elegant and illuminating parallel between the late-19th-century electrification of America and today’s computing world.”—SalonHailed as “the most influential book so far on the cloud computing movement” (Christian Science Monitor), The Big Switch makes a simple and profound statement: Computing is turning into a utility, and the effects of this transition will ultimately change society as completely as the advent of cheap elec...

World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolution, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work.Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developm...

A World Without Work: A Visionary Account of How AI Will Transform the World of WorkFrom mechanical looms to computers, new technologies have always provoked panic about workers being replaced by machines. For centuries, such fears have been misplaced, but as Daniel Susskind demonstrates in A World Without Work, this time is different. Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence mean that all kinds of jobs are increasingly at risk.Drawing on ...

A “tremendously intelligent and stylish” guide to the new technologies that are transforming our everyday lives, in ways both good and bad (Guardian)Everywhere we turn, a startling new device promises to transfigure our lives. But at what cost? In this urgent and revelatory excavation of our Information Age, leading technology thinker Adam Greenfield forces us to reconsider our relationship with the networked objects, services and spaces that define us. It...

A "skillful and lucid" (The Wall Street Journal) way of thinking about efficiency, challenging our obsession with it—and offering a new understanding of how to benefit from the powerful potential of serendipity.Algorithms, multitasking, the sharing economy, life hacks: our culture can't get enough of efficiency. One of the great promises of the Internet and big data revolutions is the idea that we can improve the processes and routines of our work and pers...

This book argues that identity and money are both changing profoundly. Because of technological change the two trends are converging so that all that we need for transacting will be our identities captured in the unique record of our online social contacts. Social networks and mobile phones are the key technologies. They will enable the building of an identity infrastructure that can enhance both privacy and security – there is no trade-off. The long-term consequences of these changes are ...

From the founding director of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence comes a fascinating look at the remarkable capacity for intelligence exhibited by groups of people and computers working together.If you're like most people, you probably believe that humans are the most intelligent animals on our planet. But there's another kind of entity that can be far smarter: groups of people. In this groundbreaking book, Thomas Malone, the founding director of the MIT Ce...

A collection of HBR's newest, best, smartest, and most urgent articles on cutting-edge technologies, business models, and innovations of the past year to help you compete today and prepare your company for the future.Curates HBR's latest thinking on the most important advances in technology and new innovations of the past year.Gets leaders and managers up to speed quickly on what they need to know on these topics, and keeps them in the know.Helps readers u...