With the incredible advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital technology, 2016 is shaping up to be a groundbreaking year in tech. Want to stay ahead of the curve? Here are our top ten titles to help you prepare for the future.
February, 2016: Ross, formerly the Senior Advisor for Innovation to the Secretary of State, takes a deep look at the industries that will have the biggest impact in our future\u2013\u2013namely robotics, cybersecurity, the commercialization of genomics, the next step for big data, and the coming impact of digital technology on money and markets. Industries of the Future asks big questions to help prepare us for the inevitable, and is an important read for everyone from businesspeople to parents to teachers.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
January, 2016: Slate correspondent Justin Peters offers an insightful look at the life of Aaron Swartz, prodigy and advocate for open source, who committed suicide in 2013 after being indicted for illegally downloading academic articles. The Idealist is an important read for anyone interested in open information and the future of the Internet.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
March, 2016: In Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, Media scholar and technologist Rushkoff looks at how we can sustain a viable economic future in this digital world when robots begin to threaten our jobs.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
January, 2016: Edison is the household name in electricity, but it was his nemesis, the inventor Nicola Tesla whose generators powered artificial light at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. In Tesla vs. Edison, Cawthorne shows the story of these two men\u2013\u2013and who, ultimately, is deserving of credit.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
March, 2016: London-based AI expert George Zarkadakis makes a compelling argument that we are heading into a fourth Industrial Revolution. In Our Own Image looks at what this means, and how this new age of intelligence can reveal something important about our humanity.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
January, 2016: How do breakthrough ideas emerge? In Inventology, Kennedy examines stories of inventors for insight into what makes an idea stick. And now, at the brink of a new technological age, the potential for creative design, art, and construction is at an all-time peak.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
April, 2016: What will happen to us humans when robots are here for good? When robots have become smart enough to have reached “em”\u2013\u2013brain emulation. In The Age of Em, Hanson surveys experts across a range of disciplines to learn about if (and how) man and machine can live in harmony.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
March, 2016: Journalist Fred Kaplan tells the never-before-told true story of the history of cyberwarfare. He explores the far corners of the Pentagon, NSA, and White House for a compelling look at a “past that shines an unsettling light on our future” in Dark Territory.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
February, 2016: How can we change the world? Adam Grant, professor at Wharton and one of the top thinkers in social science, poses this question in Originals. The answer? By challenging something. Praised by leaders from Sheryl Sandberg to Malcolm Gladwell, Originals is an interesting look at building a culture that embraces dissent.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
April, 2016 (paperback): Yes, we included this as one of the top books to get started on AI. But Bostrom’s take on the future of humanity is just too interesting\u2013\u2013and terrifying\u2013\u2013to leave off this list. If you haven’t checked out this philosophical and existential look at our future, pick up the paperback of Superintelligence next April.
Also see: Tech books: The 10 best reads of 2015
Hope Reese is a writer based in Louisville, Kentucky, currently living in Budapest. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic, the Boston Globe, Vox, Vice and other publications.
