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(Paperback at Amazon.com) 
Trade Paperback, 260 pages
 
Kindle Edition
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What does the
title "The Lights in the Tunnel" mean?
The book uses a unique approach: it creates a
mental simulation (or imaginary video game) based on "lights in a
tunnel" in order to help the reader visualize the future economic
impact of accelerating technology.
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About
the Author |
| Martin Ford is the founder of a
Silicon Valley-based software development firm. He has over 25
years experience in the fields of computer design and
software development. He holds a computer engineering degree
from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a graduate
business degree from the University of California, Los
Angeles. |
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What
will the economy of the future look like?
Where will advancing technology,
job automation, outsourcing and globalization lead?
Is it possible that accelerating
computer technology was a primary cause of the current global
economic crisis—and that even more disruptive
impacts lie ahead?
This groundbreaking book by a Silicon
Valley computer engineer and entrepreneur explores these
questions and shows how accelerating technology is likely to
have a highly disruptive influence on our economy in the near
future—and may well already be a significant factor in the
current global crisis.
THE LIGHTS
IN THE TUNNEL employs a powerful thought
experiment to explore the economy of the future. An imaginary
"tunnel of lights" is used to visualize the economic
implications of the new technologies that are likely to
appear in the coming years and decades.
The book directly challenges nearly all
conventional views of the future and illuminates the danger
that lies ahead if we do not plan for the impact of rapidly
advancing technology. It also offers unique insights
into how technology will intertwine with globalization to
shape the twenty-first century and explores ways in which the
economic realities of the future might be leveraged to drive
prosperity and to address global challenges such as poverty
and climate change.
Excerpt: Read the: Introduction | Table of Contents
Recent
Reviews and News Items
Read the author's blog on Future Economics
and Techology at econfuture.wordpress.com. |
The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating
Technology and the Economy of the Future
This new book takes an in depth look
at current trends in technology and globalization and examines
what the likely economic impact will be in the coming years and
decades.
Here are just a few of the
questions explored in this book:
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How will job automation impact the economy in the
future?
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How will the offshore outsourcing trend evolve in the
coming years?
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What impact will technologies such as robotics and artificial
intelligence have on the job market?
-
Did technology play a significant role in the 2007 subprime
meltdown and the subsequent global financial crisis and
recession?
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How fast can we expect technological change to occur in the
coming years and decades?
-
Which jobs and industries are likely to be most vulnerable
to automation and offshoring?
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Globalization. Collaboration. Telecommuting. Are these
the forces that will shape the workplaces of the future? Or is
there something bigger lurking?
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Machine and computer automation will primarily impact low
skilled and low paid workers. True or false?
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Will advancing technology always make society as a whole
more wealthy? Or could it someday cause a severe economic
depression?
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What are the implications of advancing automation technology
for developing nations such as China and India?
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The primary economic trend in the
coming decades will be globalization. True or
false?
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Will a college education continue to be a good bet in the
future?
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Recent economic data suggests that, in United States, we
are seeing increasing income inequality and a dwindling middle
class. How will this trend play out in the future?
-
What will be the economic impact of truly advanced future
technologies, such as nanotechnology?
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Retail positions at Wal-mart and other chain stores have
become the jobs of last resort for many workers. Will robots
and other forms of machine automation someday threaten these
jobs? If so, what alternatives will the economy create for
these workers?
-
Do we need to adapt our market-based economic system to
advancing technology or will the same rules continue to work
indefinitely?
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What government policies might make sense as technology
continues to accelerate?
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Read the: Introduction | Table of Contents
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