"Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative." H. G. Wells, A Short History of the World

The previous wave of innovation and globalization lifted countries and societies out of poverty. In China alone, the number of people who no longer live in poverty is equal to double the U.S. population. This is all fantastic news, but before we get overly excited, we should be aware that the next wave of innovation and globalization is threatening to return some people to poverty. That was a warning in Alec Ross's book The Industries of the Future. He asserts that the middle class in developed economies will be challenged in the next economic wave. Many people are already finding it difficult to get ahead in certain societies.

Ross argues that how societies adapt to the new industries and technology will determine how competitive and stable their countries will be. The biggest mistake societies can make is to double down on the past and ignore the new wave of innovation.

Big Data

"Land was the raw material of the agricultural age. Iron was the raw material of the industrial age. Data is the raw material of the information age." – Alec Ross

Big data is the ability to process a large quantity of information to make decisions in real-time. With big data, we can make strategic decisions and not be limited by a retrospective analysis of the past. At the same time, big data raises many fears. One of these fears is that humans will become like machines. In an effort to create more efficient lives, decisions based on spontaneity, love, and autonomy will be replaced by algorithms. We might start living algorithmic lives.

As big data becomes more prominent in society, it will no longer be a buzz phrase. It will reach more aspects of our lives and start guiding our actions. A big concern is that we might give up our freedom to choose together with our creativity and a sense of ownership.

Individuals are not the only ones who are worried about the impact of innovation. Organizations are overly concerned as well, especially those that operate in highly regulated industries, such as banks. Ross contends that regulators are scared of innovation when banks make money in a new way from other banks.

An important question to ask ourselves is, "Who owns data?" In the past, we asked similar questions about land ownership during the agricultural age and factory ownership during the industrial age. Given that data is the raw material during the information age, we must know who owns it.

Open Versus Closed Societies

The dominant divide of the second half of the 20^th century was between communism and capitalism. In the 21^st century, the principal binary is open versus closed political and economic models. Closed environments stall innovation keeping innovative companies away from the restricting policies.

Traditionally, cities have been incubators of growth and innovation because of their open and distributed infrastructure. Cities typically allow labor, goods, and capital to flow more freely and efficiently. Cities also attract talent and people from different cultures and parts of the world, who bring with them new ideas.

While the new wave of innovation and globalization will challenge all societies, people who will succeed are the ones who can see opportunities in the next wave of high-growth markets. Multicultural fluency will become a differentiator, but it will not just be about learning foreign languages. In an environment of big data, robotics, and cyber, technical and programming languages will be just as important. When Ross consulted with a wide range of people, one other skill kept getting mentioned – "learning how to think."