The Year in Tech, 2024: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review

by Harvard Business Review

A year of HBR's essential thinking on tech—all in one place.

Generative AI, Web3, neurotech, reusable rockets to power the space economy—new technologies like these are reshaping organizations at the hybrid office, on factory floors, and in the C-suite. What should you and your company be doing now to take advantage of the new opportunities these technologies are creating—and avoid falling victim to disruption?

The Year in Tech 2024: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review will help you understand what the latest and most important tech innovations mean for your organization and how you can use them to compete and win in today's turbulent business environment.

Business is changing. Will you adapt or be left behind?

Get up to speed and deepen your understanding of the topics that are shaping your company's future with the Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review series. Featuring HBR's smartest thinking on fast-moving issues—blockchain, cybersecurity, AI, and more—each book provides the foundational introduction and practical case studies your organization needs to compete today and collects the best research, interviews, and analysis to get it ready for tomorrow.

You can't afford to ignore how these issues will transform the landscape of business and society. The Insights You Need series will help you grasp these critical ideas—and prepare you and your company for the future.

Genres: Technology, Business, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Management, Science

162 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2023

Reviews

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honk shoo honk shoo

[Eric Salinas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should be titled 2023, a year in review. All the articles and content mentioned are things that are already out there, solely quite interesting but nothing is focused on 2024 predictions

[Spraying Bricks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lubricated layman’s telling of the current and forecasted state of the looming impact of AI and web3. Although a short set of accumulated articles and papers they have the overarching narrative of the positive effects rather than any counter-arguments. From here it seems that nothing is wrong…be it they’ve seemed to aim this at business owners and entrepreneurs, overlooking the common man and the effects of redundancy.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick, well-organised read but most of the content is adapted from articles that were published on HBR.org in 2022. The result is a reporting on what already has happened rather than a map to what is yet to happen.

The article about Twitter touches upon Apple's vertical integration allowing them to capture excess value in the supply chain and uses the example of customers purchasing lightning cables. This is already outdated following the EU forcing Apple to adopt USB-C cables, which has subsequently been rolled out globally.

The main theme is that developments in AI and cobots will augment rather than replace the need for humans. The article on neurotech and the capacity for biometrically monitoring employee's alertness at work and using vibration (or shocks one imagines) to increase their attentiveness to tasks was the most novel as well as the most troubling. Emotiv, Lockheed Martin and Microsoft are key firms working in this area.

The closing article about digital employees was also interesting, examining what are essentially 3d animated virtual assistances. Epic's Metahuman, Soul Machines and Pinscreen are key companies working in this area.

[Luke Tappen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened on Hoopla. These books are nice because they provide a way to learn from curated articles without spending lots of time on the internet. At least HBR thinks these are good enough to pull them together into a book.

If you’re looking for this kind of thing, it’s good, but expect the content to be a bit outdated. Obviously there would be some outdated content, but even if this had 2023 in the title, it would still be wise to make that assumption. You just can’t expect these types of works to bring you breaking news or anything.

I think reading this stuff is sometimes fun, but it’s mostly an extension of work. If you have an average desk job in a company, it can be good to stay semi-updated on technology and business. I mainly dislike or am indifferent to business books (at this point of my life) but don’t want to ignore the genre or insights completely. Glad to listen, but this wasn’t anything I particularly enjoyed.

[Pedro L. Fragoso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well: “human upscaling“, “brain surveillance”, “neurotech devices”, “use SmartCap to ensure that their employees are wide awake”, “brain wave monitoring”, “brain data storage”, “mental privacy”, “digital humans”...

So, broadly aligned with the two volumes published afterward, but actually better: more interesting, more balanced. Human beings are even approached with a minimum of decency, notably in “Dehumanization Is a Feature of Gig Work, Not a Bug,” which is both surprising and worrisome, as it suggests that somewhere between 2023 and 2024 people ceased to be a relevant subject—except, of course, as producers and consumers. This volume has two standouts, “How One Airline Is Using AR to Improve Operations” and “A Platform Approach to Space Exploration,” which is already more than can be said for its successors. As with everything else, it feels as though we are steadily, assuredly, moving toward the abyss.

Anyway...

[Kasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a broad sweep of tech trends tailored for those outside the tech bubble.
It's a primer, not a deep dive, making it best suited for business owners and readers seeking a general understanding of technological advancements without the need to follow every twist and turn.

This book won't satisfy tech enthusiasts who live and breathe the latest developments, as it recaps previously published articles- even from 2022, making some insights feel behind the curve. However, for those looking to catch up or spark new ideas on how to integrate tech into traditional businesses, it provides a valuable starting point.

In sum, if you're in the tech space, skip it. But if you're peeking in from the outside and curious about the landscape, "The Year in Tech, 2024" might just be the overview you need.

[Gmendra Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

All these books are sooo good that it makes you feel stupid to say "this is one of the best books I have ever read" because you literally just said the same thing about every single book you read recently....
All these books just go beyond expectations. It's wild...

This book lists out the key exciting trends to look forward to in tech in 2024. It gives lots of examples on how leaders from big companies show little fear in their ambitions to use new technologies in their organizations.

This book also talks about what it means to be a human in a context of ever-accelerating technological advancement.

[Adriyana Grotseva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a compilation of variety of HBR articles on the topic of tech that appeared in 2023 but not really future oriented or 2024. Some of the topics covered are: integrated technologies are the new business reality, neurotech at work (eg brain surveillance), web3 platforms and user data, chatGPT and AI capabilities (it is simply a complex algorithm, generating meaningful sentences), leveraging new tech to bring supply chains closer to home, why you shouldn’t buy back company’s data on the dark web, using AR to improve operations, how metaverse will enhance not replace company’s physical locations, dehumanization of the gig work, space exploration and Elon Musk, digital humans depending on the focus and desired interaction.

[MillenniumIX · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish all current non-fiction reads like this: short enough to finish in 2 days, smart and relevant. The “key takeaways” at the end of every chapter can be redundant but useful if one’s taking notes and using this as a reference.

For me though, just four stars, because a couple of chapters failed to hold my attention. It is also not as current, since the articles are 2022 without indication that it was updated for review and applicable in 2024.

My favorite chapter though is “A Platform Approach to Space Exploration” which is just intelligent. It succeeds in turning what’s so technical—in this case, a rocket system (science?)—understandable and broadly adaptable. Just *chef’s kiss*.

[Austin Paley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Already dated. A couple of good articles included, the primer in the very last chapter on digital chatbots was quite interesting. Otherwise very redundant stuff for anyone who has even the most basic knowledge of tech trends in the news.

[Omar Khedr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid book with a few great articles especially liked the one on optimizing brain performance

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been better if from customer side

[Phạm Đăng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful & Highly Recommend

- I like the topics in this book. From Neurotech, Human AI to Web3, NFT, Blockchain
- You can find more insights from this book

[Kane See · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short articles on the latest innovations and predictions on where the world will take them by leading thinkers around the world. We'll see if the predictions come true

[Mr. Reader Eric Mesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insights and well-organized essays that are easy to read. Time will tell how true the arguments presented will be, but for the most part the book is a good and informative read.

[Hans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic set of ideas, like a collection of a few generic newspaper articles. Not HBR level at all.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insightful read on how the latest emerging tech and its various use cases and challenges

[Anup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touches upon business impact of several technologies such as neurotech, GenAI, Metaverse, Digital Human and ofcourse 2 chapters on Elon Musk

[Dimitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

📕 Why (Not) to read this book (Target Audience)

Great examples of application of current tech

👀 How this book changed my daily live (Takeaways)

The use of Web3 for new business purpose

[Carlo Martinello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apart for few articles I didn't really see something remarkable.
High quality, but can be slipped.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a difference a year makes. I usually read and review the "Year in Tech" books at the beginning of the year, but in the case of the 2004 volume I finished it just as the year ended. Although well researched and written, there is really very little in this book that seem prescient from the perspective of early 2025. However, the book is is likely to still have some value to readers who want to review current tech trends. In particular the focus on AI development, although already dated is worth reviewing.

An additional valuable article in this book is an examination of Elon Musk's strategy up to late 2024 in which the authors explore if his actions represent any sort of plan or logical reasoning. After presenting a fair amount of evidence to the contrary they do conclude that his actions reflect a strategic plan. In light of the last year's developments it would seem that additional inquiry is due in this case, but the article is still worth reading.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is always an interesting and useful read because you need to know what will be the next evolution in tech and what you are expected to do
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Ajitabh Pandey · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the articles in this are from around 2022. While some of the themes are definitely a potential look forward in 2024, there is nothing new as almost every tech mentioned here has already established itself well, although these may go through significant development in 2024.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suitable background noise.