The Technologies That Changed the World
Every generation inherits technologies that solve the defining problems of their time.
Few technologies have transformed human society as profoundly as those developed over the past half century.
The internet connected the world.
Email made communication almost instantaneous.
Mobile devices put extraordinary computing power in the palm of our hands.
Cloud computing made information available from almost anywhere.
Artificial intelligence is now reshaping how knowledge itself is created, interpreted, and shared.
Each innovation solved genuine problems and expanded human capability. Each deserves recognition for the extraordinary contribution it has made. History is often unkind to the technologies it replaces but that shouldn’t be the case.
Email remains one of the most important innovations ever created. It democratised communication, accelerated business, connected families across continents, and reduced barriers that had existed for generations. Its success is beyond dispute.
Yet history also teaches us something else. Technologies are designed to solve the problems that exist at the time of their creation.
The printing press was designed to reproduce knowledge. The railway to move people and goods. The telephone to transmit conversation. Email to transmit messages and documents.
None were designed to solve every future challenge and nor should we expect them to. As society changes, the problems we ask technology to solve also change. Sometimes those changes are gradual and sometimes they are rapid. Sometimes they are superficial and sometimes they are profound.
The technologies that transformed communication were designed for a world in which information itself was relatively scarce. Today’s world is very different - our information is ubiquitous and proliferates in seconds. The challenge is no longer simply how quickly information can move. Increasingly, it is whether it should move at all.
This distinction is subtle and may prove to be one of the defining questions for the next generation of digital life.
What We Know
Digital communication has transformed society.
Email, cloud computing and mobile technologies solved problems of enormous significance.
Technological progress builds upon previous innovation rather than replacing it.
The challenges facing society continue to evolve.
What We Believe
The next significant advance in the digital economy may not depend upon communicating more effectively.
It may depend upon rethinking how we manage the information that communication increasingly carries.
Question
What happens when technologies designed to improve communication and collaborative working become the primary means through which we manage the personal documents that define our lives?