Future Tech: How to Capture Value from Disruptive Industry Trends

by Trond Arne Undheim

Amazon's Fire phone. Google Glass. Facebook Home. Quikster. New technologies alone don't always cause industry changes.

Fu ture Tech explains how the four forces of technology, policy, business models and social dynamics work together to create industry disruption and how this understanding can help to predict what is coming next. Technology is generally viewed as the single force that disrupts markets. However, history is rife with stories of technologies that have failed to meet such hyped expectations. In Future Tech , the author reveals that true change only results from combining the forces of science and technology, policy and regulation, new business models (i.e. sharing economy) and social dynamics (whether or not people adopt it). Whether these four forces align explains why some technologies, such as AI, blockchain, robotics, synthetic biology and 3D printing, stick and why others fail. With an understanding of these four forces, business executives and policymakers can explain what technology is likely to stick and even anticipate what is coming next.

By 2030, the global labor force will be led by an elite set of knowledge workers enabled by robotic AI. To help individuals thrive in this workplace, Future Tech advises readers to develop their human capabilities of creativity and adaptation, develop deep expertise in one domain while being well-versed in dozens more, and develop a personalized approach to acquiring and processing information and deliberating decisions.

328 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 2021

About the author

I write about how humans navigate technology—on factory floors, in boardrooms, and in near-future worlds that might be closer than we think.

My nonfiction work includes The Platinum Workforce: How to Train and Hire for the 21st Century’s Industrial Transitions (Anthem Press, 2025) and Augmented Lean: A Human-Centric Framework for Managing Frontline Operations (Wiley, 2022), drawing on research at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) and my time as Director of MIT Startup Exchange, where I connected over 1,000 startups with 250 corporations.

I'm also developing a literary science-fiction thriller—a high-concept, deeply human story grounded in cutting-edge science, anthropology, cognitive psychology, and network sociology. It explores what happens when technological systems begin to press against the edges of human agency, judgment, and meaning.

Host of the Futurized podcast (500+ episodes). Former Research Scholar, Stanford CISAC (2022–2024). I hold a PhD on the future of work and technology. Based outside Boston, MA.

Reviews

[Darya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the book because it touches so many aspects of technology. First of all it does give an overview of technology, types and industry applications and provides a lot of resources at the end that will help to keep up with trends. There is an in-depth analysis of 3d printing, robotics, and others. My favourite part is about T professionals and polymaths. Absolutely worth reading!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very important book on technology and policy that everyone should read.