Exponential

Ever since ancient times, human beings have used technology to try and make their lives easier, for example when our ancestors used the very first flint tools to hunt more efficiently, or as a result of the industrial revolution of the 19th century. However, we tend to underestimate one aspect of our dependence on technology, and that is its innate power to transform the world around us, in such an unpredictable way that no one, not even the people who created the technology in the first place, can say for sure which way it will go. This happens because the society in which we live has become a complex system, whose political, economic, cultural and social forces interact with each other so closely, that the slightest change can have enormous consequences for the entire system.

Innovation has always generated transformation, and change is part of human history. When change occurred in the past, people would at first reject it, then try to adapt to it, and eventually learn to take advantage of it. The human brain is not wired to accept change willingly, and takes time to do so, but time is in extremely short supply in today’s Exponential Era. What is different now, from all the other technological phases we have witnessed since 2010, is the speed at which these changes are taking place. We are no longer talking about centuries or decades, but years, if not months.