Roundtable———Participants: Esther Dyson, David Kirkpatrick, Jaron Lanier, Bernie Meyerson, Ken Perlin ———— In a world increasingly suffused by technology, how are both technology and the world changing? Our work, communications, social patterns, shopping, education, and health are being changed, and mostly improved, as technology permeates these realms. A recent study concluded that for the first time half the planet’s population now possesses a cellphone. The Internet, which may exert an even greater impact on the lives of those who use it, is only available to about 19% of the world’s people. But the convergence of the two is happening quickly, as accessing the Net on a mobile phone becomes routine.
Social networks like MySpace and Facebook didn’t even exist five years ago. Now they define social experience for an entire generation. Meanwhile, virtual worlds like Second Life and games like World of Warcraft immerse millions in alternative realities, making fiction come alive. And modern life is coming to much of the planet all at once, as people living in remote villages turn on their cellphones and visit the local Internet cafe. Underlying computing technologies continue to improve exponentially. Processing power, storage, and network communication speeds evolve almost faster than our ability to take advantage of them.