What The Internet of Things Means For Physical Industries

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What The Internet of Things Means For Physical Industries

The extension of the Internet to the physical world is a huge step forward and in this video Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist at the Progressive Policy Institute, talks about what this will mean for us. During the Washington Post Live's All Things Connected forum he explains that "the Internet has transformed digital industries, while the Internet of Things will transform physical industries." He estimates that 20% of GDP comes from the digital industries, which means that 80% comes from the physical industries. This shows that the transformation of physical industries can have a massive impact on the GDP. In addition he explains why he believes that the Internet of Things will be a job creator instead of a job destructor, as is often thought of technological advances.

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Dr. Mark van Rijmenam

Dr. Mark van Rijmenam

Dr. Mark van Rijmenam is The Digital Speaker, a world-leading futurist and global AI keynote speaker who helps leaders decide what AI, and the technologies that follow it, mean for their business. He speaks to leadership teams at their retreats and to conference audiences worldwide, and his WAVE framework gives them a way of deciding that they keep using long after he has left the room. His Intelligence Age Scorecard measures how ready an organization is across the four WAVE pillars.

He holds a PhD from the University of Technology Sydney, is a Certified Speaking Professional and Global Speaking Fellow, and ranks among the world’s top futurists on the Global Gurus list (#1 in 2025, #3 in 2026). Salesforce named him one of its 16 leading AI voices. He has written six books, most recently Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change, writes the Synthetic Minds newsletter on Substack, and founded Futurwise. Talk to his digital twin on WhatsApp: +1 (830) 463-6967.

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