Among his many memorable (and hilarious) quotes, famed New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra once exclaimed, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” And when it comes to advances in big data and artificial intelligence, he couldn’t be more right. New, world-changing technology is emerging all the time, so to find out what life will look like in the not-so-distant future, check out the nine eye-opening reads below.
Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup’s Quest to End Privacy as We Know It
By Kashmir Hill
A gripping true story about the rise of a technological superpower and an urgent warning that, in the absence of vigilance and government regulation, Clearview AI is one of many new technologies that challenge what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once called “the right to be let alone.” Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Kashmir Hill, in the Next Big Idea App
Web3: Charting the Internet’s Next Economic Frontier
By Alex Tapscott
An essential introduction and guide to navigating the next Internet revolution—everything from the metaverse and NFTs to DAOs, decentralized finance, and self-sovereign identity—from the co-author of the international bestseller Blockchain Revolution. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Alex Tapscott, in the Next Big Idea App
Containing Big Tech: How to Protect Our Civil Rights, Economy, and Democracy
By Tom Kemp
This richly detailed book exposes the consequences of Big Tech’s digital surveillance, exploitative use of AI, and monopolistic and anticompetitive practices. It offers actionable solutions to these problems and a clear path forward for individuals and policymakers to advocate for change. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Tom Kemp, in the Next Big Idea App
Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner Realities
By David B. Auerbach
A technologist explores how the autonomous digital forces jolting our lives—as uncontrollable as the weather and plate tectonics—are transforming life, society, culture, and politics. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author David Auerbach, in the Next Big Idea App
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma
By Mustafa Suleyman, with Michael Bhaskar
An urgent warning of the unprecedented risks that AI and other fast-developing technologies pose to global order, and how we might contain them while we have the chance—from a co-founder of the pioneering artificial intelligence company DeepMind. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Michael Bhaskar, in the Next Big Idea App
The Age of Prediction: Algorithms, AI, and the Shifting Shadows of Risk
By Igor Tulchinsky and Christopher E. Mason
Beginning with dramatic advances in quantitative investing and precision medicine, this book explores how predictive technology is quietly reshaping our world in fundamental ways, from crime fighting and warfare to monitoring individual health and elections. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Igor Tulchinsky, in the Next Big Idea App
The Datapreneurs: The Promise of AI and the Creators Building Our Future
By Bob Muglia, with Steve Hamm
A long-time Microsoft executive explains how humanity must create a new social contract for the artificial general intelligence (AGI)—autonomous machines intelligent as people—that he expects to arrive in less than a decade. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Bob Muglia, in the Next Big Idea App
Present Future: Business, Science, and the Deep Tech Revolution
By Guy Perelmuter
“Perelmuter draws upon his own experiences as a successful tech entrepreneur and investor, and the writings of dozens of other experts, to highlight the most important implications of multiple emerging technologies.” – Ben Casnocha, investor. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Guy Perelmuter, in the Next Big Idea App
How Big-Tech Barons Smash Innovation―and How to Strike Back
By Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke
Two market experts deconstruct the drivers and inhibitors to innovation in the digital economy, explain how large tech companies can stifle disruption, and outline policy changes to take power away from big tech and return it to entrepreneurs. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke, in the Next Big Idea App
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium video e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
