Photo Gallery The Coming Technology Revolution
Technological change is constantly accelerating, and that is just how digital leaders in the Silicon Valley want it. They have a vision for the future, one where artificial intelligence is the norm and the entire world benefits. Google, with its myriad inventions in recent years, is leading the charge.
The digital elite is headquartered in Silicon Valley. Many of the tech companies there have massive reaches that span the globe, a phenomenon made possible by the potent combination of globalization and digitalization.
A Google data center in Georgia. The technological advances made in the last decade have been breathtaking, but it is likely still just the beginning. The growth of new technologies, after all, has been exponential rather than linear, with ever larger advances coming at an increasingly rapid rate. It's like a gigantic avalanche that begins as a tiny snowball at the top of the mountain.
Ray Kurzweil is the director of engineering at Google and has dedicated his life to thinking about technology. He believes that by 2029, computers will be able to do everything that humans can.
Sebastian Thrun is a German-born artificial intelligence expert who was the primary mind behind the development of Google's driverless car. He has also founded Udacity, an education company hoping to change the way higher education is perceived and delivered around the world.
Peter Thiel became a billionaire after founding PayPal and investing in a number of tech start-ups. He's also a representative of the libertarianism streak that dominates thinking in the Silicon Valley. The tech elite have created a world view, a political philosophy that corresponds with their goals.
The Burning Man festival at Nevada's Black Rock Desert has become a pilgrimage site for the Silicon Valley's tech elite. Google co-founder Larry Page describes it as a model environment where "people can try new things" that could also benefit the Silicon Valley.
