The Augmented Workforce: How the Metaverse Will Impact Every Dollar You Make

by Cathy Hackl, John Buzzell

Business as usual is over. The age of hyper-change is upon us, and technology is at the forefront. Since the dawn of the microchip, exponential growth has defined modern technology. Today, entire industries are being upended by software, sensors, cameras, LiDAR, processors, and optics — all growing smaller by the day. Tech is pushing into every corner of our world, and businesses that ignore the disruption do so at their own peril. The end of the mobile phone is near, and the age of hyperconnectivity is here, with AR glasses, the intelligent edge, and IoT.

Led by globally recognized futurist Cathy Hackl and award-winning emerging-tech leader John Buzzell, this book will arm you with frameworks and examples to tackle the rapid disruption happening in every industry. This book is for business leaders who want to learn more about 5G, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and other emerging tech. We’ll explain how you can wield this new tech for scale and revenue growth. We’ve seen the effects of this technology on the workforce firsthand, both success and failure. Along the way, you’ll hear real-life examples from business leaders and the authors — industry experts in technology years in the making. By the end, you’ll be seeing the world through AR glasses and AI applications, and at the speed of 5G.

Get ahead of the competition and shape the future you’ll be ready to lead with The Augmented Workforce.

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 25, 2021

Reviews

[Kim Pallister · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but found it pretty lacking in a number of ways:

- Explanations of the underlying technologies are paper-thin (esp AI & 5G)

- Examples given of 'real deployment' are inconsistent, varying from aspirational to anecdotal, such that the few where data ARE given are hard to depend on as indicative of a trend, as they feel cherry picked.

- Similarly, the uses cited (technology X can be used to improve area Y) are often hand-waving, with unexplained leaps and assumptions about whether they are viable or aspirational.

- Negatives of any of the technologies are barely called out at all. Some minor concessions are made in this direction, but they are incomplete and quickly waived off, leaving the impression the authors felt the needed to check that box, rather than trying to legitimately address the topic.

Overall, skip it. The same unexplained and overblown buzzword-hype can be had for free within mainstream press tech coverage.

[Luciano Gurgel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introductory and practical guide on the technologies mentioned in the title.
The book goes through different areas such as training, advertising, gaming and sales by presenting conceptually how they could be impacted and practically by bringing real case scenarios.
Definitely a good first step to identify points of interest on which to develop in your business or even personal path.

[Antonin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting use cases are mentionned in the book, but it is is quite repetitive and lacks of vision on what already is in place and how it will evolve. There are also very annoying obvious sentences at the beginning of litteraly each chapter such as "Humanity have never had access to so much information".

[Franz Schrepf · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 2000, this book would have been revolutionary. Today not so much.

As much as I appreciate the authors enthusiasm for VR, AI, and 5G, most of these ideas are rather foreseeable next steps in the current evolution of tech. Apart from the idea around customizable content there were little new ideas.

[Steven Garza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives you a birdseye view of some of the developing technologies in Web3. This book should be read by someone who is new to the space.