The way we work is changing every day, and this is likely going to be the biggest revolution that mankind has seen in centuries. Why? Because, work is something that defines us. Any change in that is going to have a huge impact on us. Have you ever been to Vietnam, Thailand, or Indonesia? If you have, you'll find a bunch of young folks working out of cafes.

Smart machines, businesses as platforms, and the gig economy figure into Tom Friedman's riff on where the future of work could take global companies. Tom Friedman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times and author of seven best-selling books. His work covers a broad range of topics, including globalization, the Middle East, and environmental challenges. Friedman is intrigued by the connections among people, businesses, technology, and institutions that shape the evolution of an increasingly complex world. His newest book, "Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations," explores the future of work, a topic also being examined by Deloitte U.S. and Deloitte LLP's Center for the Edge.

America's military budget, at $615 billion, dwarfs those of its closest competitors, China ($211 billion) and Russia ($69 billion). Even with that advantage, a new report finds that the U.S. is at risk of falling behind in the race to find and create AI for military applications. In 2014, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that his department intended to lead the coming AI revolution with what he called the "Third Offset Strategy." For the uninitiated, the Second Offset Strategy was in response to the buildup of conventional forces along the Central European front by the Soviet Union and its satellite states ... which itself was a response to the First Offset Strategy that had the U.S. putting its own forces in the field. America didn't want to match the Soviets soldier for soldier, so new technology like long-range sensors and a new generation of guided munitions and submunitions was developed to give the U.S. an edge.

PROFESSOR STEPHEN Hawking has told the BBC that he fears artificial intelligence (AI) could eventually spell the end for the human race. This depressing prediction doesn't worry today's marketers, however. They are too excited about using the technology to interact more effectively with consumers at an individual level. AI is not about robotics. It is about creating computers that can think like a human and can learn and improve.

Visit Singularity Hub for the latest from the frontiers of manufacturing and technology as we bring you coverage of Singularity University's Exponential Manufacturing conference . Who will rule the future economy--entrepreneurs or mega corporations? Will the economy fracture into smaller and smaller bits or centralize in a winner-take-all scenario? The answer, according to John Hagel, is it depends where you look. Hagel is co-chairman of Deloitte's Center for the Edge.