The Inevitable: Understanding the Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future

00:13:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEy6T2HIg-8

Summary

TLDRIn an interview with Brian Cramer, Kevin Kelly discusses his book 'The Inevitable,' which examines the 12 technological forces poised to shape our future over the next 25 years. Kelly suggests that while the specifics of which products or companies will prevail remain unpredictable, broader technological trends are discernible and should be embraced. Examples include increasing tracking and the rise of artificial intelligence. He highlights society's role in managing these trends, like ensuring symmetrical tracking for transparency and benefit. Kelly further explores the shift from ownership to access in technology, where services and access to products—such as music streaming—are becoming more common than physical ownership. He emphasizes the growing value of being able to ask good questions, which will become a valuable skill as answers become widely available and inexpensive. Concerns about cyber warfare and the lack of regulation in AI are also raised, as these areas may pose significant challenges. However, Kelly remains optimistic, highlighting the vast potential for AI and technology to create new jobs and ways of thinking.

Takeaways

  • 📘 Kevin Kelly discusses his book 'The Inevitable' about 12 future-shaping tech forces.
  • 📈 Trends like tracking and AI are inevitable and should be embraced.
  • 🔍 Society can shape how tracking is implemented for mutual benefits.
  • 💡 AI is seen as a major force for business opportunities.
  • 🔄 Shift from owning items to accessing them is accelerating.
  • ❓ Good questions will become more valuable as answers are commoditized.
  • ⚠️ Cybersecurity and AI regulation need urgent attention.
  • 🌟 Kelly is optimistic about technology fostering innovation and solving complex issues.
  • 🚗 Autonomous vehicles exemplify the Second Industrial Revolution powered by AI.
  • 🧠 AI will help invent new thinking methods and solve current human-impossible problems.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Brian Cramer introduces Kevin Kelly, discussing his book 'The Inevitable' which outlines 12 technological forces shaping the future. Kelly emphasizes that while specific product outcomes are unpredictable, broader trends such as increased digital tracking and the rise of artificial intelligence are inevitable. He stresses the importance of embracing these changes to maximize benefits and minimize risks, highlighting choices in how tracking is implemented and the potential for AI to be guided ethically.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:13:28

    The conversation shifts to how technological inevitabilities, like AI's revolution, mirror the first Industrial Revolution, promising extensive opportunities especially in business. Kelly notes a trend from ownership to access, driven by advancements in software and digital services. He underscores the significance of questioning in an era where answers are abundant due to machine intelligence. Despite being optimistic about technology's potential, Kelly warns about the challenges of cyber conflict and the ethical quagmire in programming AI with human morals. He anticipates AI generating new jobs and solutions, transforming society in the next few decades.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is 'The Inevitable' about?

    The book outlines 12 technological forces that will shape our future over the next 25 years.

  • Can we predict specific technological products of the future?

    While we can't predict specific products or companies that will succeed, we can predict long-term technological trends.

  • What are examples of inevitable technological trends?

    Tracking and artificial intelligence are examples of trends that will inevitably grow.

  • How can society handle inevitable trends like surveillance?

    We have choices about how tracking is done, such as ensuring it's symmetrical so people have transparency and accountability.

  • What impact will AI have on business?

    AI will unleash new opportunities and make this an exciting time for innovation and business development.

  • How are we shifting from ownership to access in technology?

    The trend is moving from owning products to accessing services, like streaming music instead of owning it.

  • Why are questions more valuable in the future?

    As answers become cheap and ubiquitous, the ability to ask complex, good questions becomes more valuable.

  • What are concerns about technology mentioned?

    Cyber warfare is a concern due to lack of rules and difficulties in attribution.

  • What new opportunities will AI create?

    AI will create new jobs and ways of thinking, solving problems that are currently beyond human capabilities.

  • What does Kevin Kelly think about the future?

    He is optimistic about technology's potential to create new opportunities and solve problems.

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  • 00:00:16
    you Jessica theme hi this is Brian
  • 00:00:19
    Cramer welcome back to deli MC world
  • 00:00:21
    very excited to be here with Kevin
  • 00:00:23
    Kelley New York Times bestselling author
  • 00:00:25
    of the inevitable I love that title yes
  • 00:00:28
    understanding the 12 technological
  • 00:00:31
    forces that will shape our future
  • 00:00:32
    there's 12 of them yes if you can master
  • 00:00:35
    those you'll be all set and that's it
  • 00:00:38
    yeah exactly all right thank you guys
  • 00:00:39
    for coming and we'll see you soon
  • 00:00:42
    tell me about the book the book is about
  • 00:00:45
    the next 25 years in the digital realm
  • 00:00:48
    what's coming and I think that most of
  • 00:00:53
    what is going to happen is unpredictable
  • 00:00:55
    in the specifics what products are gonna
  • 00:00:58
    win what companies but the longer-term
  • 00:01:01
    trends are something that we can
  • 00:01:03
    actually predict because they're
  • 00:01:05
    happening right now and my book outlines
  • 00:01:09
    those longer form factors that are
  • 00:01:13
    occurring and will continue to occur and
  • 00:01:16
    we can not only Bank on them but I think
  • 00:01:19
    we should embrace them because by
  • 00:01:21
    embracing them we can make the most of
  • 00:01:23
    their benefits and we can minimize their
  • 00:01:25
    harm give give us some examples so an
  • 00:01:29
    example would be tracking more and more
  • 00:01:34
    of our lives are being tracked we self
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    track with quantified self our friends
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    are tracking us with our pictures that
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    they're tagging on the social networks
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    cameras track us companies track us
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    governments tracker so it's in 50 years
  • 00:01:51
    25 years we're gonna be more tracked
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    than we are right now um that's
  • 00:01:55
    inevitable what's not inevitable is what
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    we do about it how we track who benefits
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    whether it's symmetrical or asymmetrical
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    those are the things we have choices
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    about and that's what I think we should
  • 00:02:08
    we have to understand that more tracking
  • 00:02:11
    is inevitable but we can do something
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    about it
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    when when you say we can do something
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    about it what is it what do you about we
  • 00:02:17
    have choices about how how we're being
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    tracked in other words we're gonna be
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    tracked but is it symmetrical so the
  • 00:02:23
    problem with tracking is they are
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    tracking me and I don't know what
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    know about me I can't correct if it's
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    wrong it can't hold them accountable and
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    I get no benefit but if if I can track
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    who's tracking me if it goes both ways
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    and then I can hold them accountable and
  • 00:02:41
    then and and I can get some benefit
  • 00:02:44
    that's that works so um okay so any
  • 00:02:48
    other examples that might fit what we're
  • 00:02:50
    talking about yeah so cognition the
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    making smarter of everything
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    also known as artificial intelligence
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    right that is something that's going to
  • 00:03:01
    happen more and more it's inevitable we
  • 00:03:03
    can't stop it we can embrace it and try
  • 00:03:07
    to steer it
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    we can teach ethics we could have
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    moralities we can have values we can we
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    can regulate it we can do all those
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    things but it's kind of becoming those
  • 00:03:19
    robots and AIS are coming they're coming
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    in they're inevitable but we have some
  • 00:03:24
    choice about what we how they come so a
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    lot is still yet to be determined
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    absolutely we have a lot of choice even
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    though a lot of this technology is
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    inevitable so a lot of our viewers right
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    now are coming at technology from a
  • 00:03:37
    business perspective how do you think
  • 00:03:39
    these forces relate to the direction
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    business is moving in and how how's it
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    going to affect companies in the future
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    yeah this is the most amazing time in
  • 00:03:48
    history to be trying to make something
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    because the tools have never been better
  • 00:03:53
    distribution to an access to the
  • 00:03:57
    customers have never been easier sure
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    there's more competition but there's
  • 00:04:01
    more and more opportunities than ever
  • 00:04:05
    before in history and compared to where
  • 00:04:07
    we're going this is the best time in the
  • 00:04:09
    world ever because of all the huge
  • 00:04:12
    unleashing of the opportunities coming
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    from artificial intelligence and virtual
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    reality we're just at the dawn we're
  • 00:04:21
    just at the beginning this is like going
  • 00:04:22
    back into 1980 at the beginning of the
  • 00:04:25
    internet imagine if you were alive and
  • 00:04:27
    well at the beginning of the internet
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    when you could claim any domain name you
  • 00:04:32
    wanted for free that's what it was back
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    then right and and so we're at the same
  • 00:04:37
    level right now where you can take
  • 00:04:40
    anything you want and a day
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    that's you can buy a you don't have to
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    make it you could just purchase it so we
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    are at the first hour of the first day
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    yeah ahead of us so it's a fantastic
  • 00:04:54
    opportunity for business yeah man and
  • 00:04:58
    you're set you're saying that this is in
  • 00:04:59
    the next 50 years that we're gonna see
  • 00:05:01
    that transformation absolutely so the
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    the artificial intelligence revolution
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    is equal or surpassing the first
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    Industrial Revolution yeah which made
  • 00:05:11
    everything in this room made everything
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    in this city which has made everything
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    that we're serving right is is a product
  • 00:05:17
    of the first Industrial Revolution yeah
  • 00:05:19
    where we harnessed artificial power
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    could before then you had to make
  • 00:05:22
    everything with muscle power animal or
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    human now we can make things with this
  • 00:05:27
    250 when you when you turn your switch
  • 00:05:29
    on your car and drive down the road you
  • 00:05:31
    harness who summoned the equivalent of
  • 00:05:34
    250 horses to do whatever you want
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    that's artificial power and now we're
  • 00:05:40
    gonna add artificial intelligence right
  • 00:05:42
    to those two 250 horses we'll add 250
  • 00:05:45
    minds and you have the self-driving car
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    and that's going to make a Second
  • 00:05:49
    Industrial Revolution that surpassed
  • 00:05:51
    what we've seen in the changes in our
  • 00:05:53
    lives from the first one right right
  • 00:05:54
    many of these forces that you're talking
  • 00:05:57
    about are rooted in in software than in
  • 00:06:01
    hardware right do you do you agree with
  • 00:06:04
    that yes do you see it that way
  • 00:06:06
    yes so one of the other shifts one of
  • 00:06:08
    the other trends that's been happening
  • 00:06:10
    for decades and will continue even more
  • 00:06:12
    so is this shift from products to
  • 00:06:15
    services from nouns to verbs from things
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    to processes from hardware to software
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    so that's that that will continue where
  • 00:06:27
    we have the dematerialization where we
  • 00:06:29
    substitute atoms with bits okay so we we
  • 00:06:33
    make things do more with less atoms less
  • 00:06:37
    material and that's a shift from from
  • 00:06:39
    basically the dominance of hardware to
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    software and so that's certainly another
  • 00:06:44
    thing that's going on great
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    what are what are some things that
  • 00:06:47
    you've already seen or are seeing
  • 00:06:50
    starting to become more of a big deal in
  • 00:06:52
    our world as a result of what you're
  • 00:06:54
    talking about
  • 00:06:55
    well besides that shift they just
  • 00:06:58
    mentioned from hardware to software and
  • 00:07:00
    things to processes is this shift from
  • 00:07:03
    the benefits of owning things to the
  • 00:07:06
    benefits of accessing things so if you
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    can summon something in rapid delivery
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    or instantaneous delivery of digital or
  • 00:07:16
    instant manufacturing with 3d printing
  • 00:07:19
    if you can have instant access to
  • 00:07:22
    everything when you want it why would
  • 00:07:25
    you own anything right why would you if
  • 00:07:27
    you can have any reach and get any music
  • 00:07:30
    in the world any time why would you own
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    it yeah okay if you could have access to
  • 00:07:35
    a car any time that you wanted why would
  • 00:07:37
    you why would you own it right if you
  • 00:07:39
    could have access to clothes anytime
  • 00:07:41
    why would you own it or furniture it
  • 00:07:44
    comes in you use it for day giggles
  • 00:07:45
    maybe underwear you would on your own
  • 00:07:47
    maybe undo it right so there there is
  • 00:07:51
    many ways in which we are shifting the
  • 00:07:55
    default from ownership to access okay so
  • 00:07:59
    it's not that you will own nothing it's
  • 00:08:01
    just that the default will come to ya
  • 00:08:05
    accessing it and there will be many ways
  • 00:08:08
    in which you may choose to own this or
  • 00:08:10
    that because of some affection because
  • 00:08:11
    of convenience but the benefits of
  • 00:08:15
    ownership are diminishing and the
  • 00:08:17
    benefits of access are increasing so in
  • 00:08:20
    your book you talk about the idea of
  • 00:08:22
    questioning and as one of your forces
  • 00:08:25
    but it's not just about the questions is
  • 00:08:27
    about asking complex questions tell me
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    about that
  • 00:08:31
    so it turns out that with Google and
  • 00:08:37
    machine intelligence that if you want an
  • 00:08:40
    answer to something you ask a machine
  • 00:08:43
    but because because answers become cheap
  • 00:08:48
    ubiquitous free accurate good so they
  • 00:08:52
    become a commodity they become
  • 00:08:54
    ubiquitous and in that environment where
  • 00:08:57
    answers are free and cheap what becomes
  • 00:09:00
    valuable and scarce are good questions
  • 00:09:02
    and so machines make answers and what
  • 00:09:05
    humans are going to be about is asking a
  • 00:09:07
    good question
  • 00:09:08
    the results of education the highly
  • 00:09:10
    educated person will be a person who can
  • 00:09:14
    ask a good question and so the question
  • 00:09:16
    is what's a good question
  • 00:09:17
    well a good question and besides kind of
  • 00:09:20
    throwing off answers actually generates
  • 00:09:23
    more new good questions a good question
  • 00:09:26
    leads to other good cultures sure and so
  • 00:09:28
    it turns out that what humans are really
  • 00:09:31
    good at is asking questions and so the
  • 00:09:36
    better you can ask questions yeah the
  • 00:09:39
    better and so and so we have this shift
  • 00:09:40
    away from and I think schools and even
  • 00:09:43
    companies asking trying to give answers
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    and then shifting it to like what's a
  • 00:09:48
    good question right okay and so this is
  • 00:09:51
    kind of like the old Peter Drucker
  • 00:09:53
    distinction he said you know in the old
  • 00:09:55
    way in the old world in the gestural
  • 00:09:58
    world your job was to do it was to do
  • 00:10:02
    your job right and in this new world
  • 00:10:06
    it's to do the right job that requires a
  • 00:10:11
    question mm-hmm so it's not just
  • 00:10:13
    providing answers is not just providing
  • 00:10:15
    what it's always asking the good
  • 00:10:17
    question it's almost like we're entering
  • 00:10:19
    into in the knowledge era
  • 00:10:21
    we're in well it's more than knowledge
  • 00:10:23
    because that's a knowledge in certain
  • 00:10:25
    sense is gonna be ubiquitous and cheap
  • 00:10:27
    we're entering into the discovery era
  • 00:10:30
    asking questions is the type of
  • 00:10:32
    discovery so as you look in the future
  • 00:10:35
    is there something in particular you're
  • 00:10:38
    wary of and to end on a positive
  • 00:10:41
    something that you know equally you're
  • 00:10:43
    equally excited about well I mean yeah
  • 00:10:45
    I'm over-the-top optimistic about this
  • 00:10:49
    technology and people will often ask me
  • 00:10:51
    it might worried about anything
  • 00:10:52
    technological yes I am I'm worried about
  • 00:10:54
    cyber war and cyber conflict and the
  • 00:10:57
    reason why I'm concerned about that is
  • 00:10:59
    for several reasons one it's because
  • 00:11:00
    it's very difficult to make a tribution
  • 00:11:03
    to figure out what's going on and right
  • 00:11:06
    now none of the state governments are
  • 00:11:08
    acknowledging the extent to which they
  • 00:11:10
    are involved in this and there are no
  • 00:11:12
    rules in conventional warfare we have
  • 00:11:15
    acceptable practices that we won't do
  • 00:11:18
    certain things we have no consensus
  • 00:11:20
    right now among
  • 00:11:21
    anybody about what's acceptable and
  • 00:11:24
    what's not and my fear is that it's
  • 00:11:25
    going to require some terrible disaster
  • 00:11:28
    before we will come to some agreement
  • 00:11:31
    about no you can't do that Wow and and
  • 00:11:33
    all the sides are doing it yeah make no
  • 00:11:36
    mistake about that
  • 00:11:37
    and then as we weaponize AI and we have
  • 00:11:40
    robot soldiers and drones that actually
  • 00:11:43
    have the kill decision and make those
  • 00:11:45
    decisions we we aren't yet prepared for
  • 00:11:50
    that yeah we aren't written you have to
  • 00:11:52
    train in ethics and morality which is we
  • 00:11:54
    can do if we know what our morality
  • 00:11:58
    ethics are that's the hard part is that
  • 00:11:59
    we actually are as humans are not very
  • 00:12:01
    good in ethics we're not very consistent
  • 00:12:03
    we're not very deep we think we are but
  • 00:12:07
    we're really not and we know that
  • 00:12:08
    because when we try to teach it to the
  • 00:12:10
    AIS we realize oh my gosh we're terrible
  • 00:12:13
    and and the one thing that you're
  • 00:12:15
    equally excited by I in about in about
  • 00:12:17
    30 seconds I am so excited about the new
  • 00:12:20
    opportunities and the new jobs they're
  • 00:12:22
    gonna be created by AI and robots they
  • 00:12:25
    will take away certain tasks and they
  • 00:12:27
    would do it better but they are gonna
  • 00:12:28
    help us invent so many more new things
  • 00:12:31
    that we want to do any new thing you
  • 00:12:33
    think it will help us invent I think
  • 00:12:36
    it's gonna help us invent new ways of
  • 00:12:39
    thinking and will solve some problems
  • 00:12:42
    that we can't solve by our own human
  • 00:12:44
    intelligence well this is gonna be an
  • 00:12:46
    interesting world in the in the next 50
  • 00:12:48
    years I'm excited to see it's gonna
  • 00:12:50
    happen in the next 10 or 20 years
  • 00:12:52
    senator 20 years Wow
  • 00:12:53
    so it's it's coming yeah welcome to the
  • 00:12:56
    new revolution thank you so much for
  • 00:12:58
    joining me here today I really
  • 00:12:59
    appreciate it it's my pleasure thank you
  • 00:13:01
    for asking great questions
  • 00:13:03
    you got obviously a human yes a human
  • 00:13:06
    who's written a book about so
  • 00:13:08
    congratulations on the great books and
  • 00:13:10
    and I will we'll talk to you soon
  • 00:13:13
    great thank you okay thank you so much
Tags
  • Technology
  • Future
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Tracking
  • Ownership vs Access
  • Innovation
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Questions
  • Trends