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FutureSource

Apr 23, 2014

Rebalancing Socioeconomic Asymmetry in a Data-Driven Economy

By Peter Haynes

As the global economy becomes increasingly grounded in the exchange of data, the ways in which those data are collected and analyzed will become even more opaque to individuals, and the value exchange that is taking place even harder to discern. Although an individual may receive something in return for their information, the real values […]

FutureSource

Apr 21, 2014

Beyond Network Feudalism

By John Hanacek

Our civilization has a new reality. Computers meshed together by digital networks have transcended the system that built them becoming a new reality, a place where duplicating and moving information has near zero marginal cost. This alone has changed the nature of the world; we have a virtual playground where the reality of scarcity we […]

FutureSource

Apr 14, 2014

Beyond Today’s Internet

By Thomas A. Campbell

When the precursor to today’s Internet, the ARPANET, had its first nodes connected in 1969, only a handful of computer scientists knew about it. Now most of the world is dependent on the Internet’s vast web of links, tweets, posts, and likes for commerce, communication, and socialization. But could the Internet of future generations be […]

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Apr 10, 2014

The US and the World Gather in Medellin

By Peter Engelke

This week, Medellin, Colombia is hosting the World Urban Forum, the 7th iteration of the United Nation’s biannual conference series dedicated to the world’s cities. Some 25,000 people from everywhere on Earth are gathering at “WUF7” to discuss the governance challenges, and the unlimited opportunities, that are found in the world’s cities. The scale and […]

FutureSource

Apr 3, 2014

Moving to Zero

By Banning Garrett

How much of human productive activity can be moved to “near zero marginal cost”? Jeremy Rifkin’s provocative new book poses the question to our future. The case for “near zero marginal cost” in the digital world is pretty clear, as Rifkin so ably explains. Think of a piece of software (from Microsoft Office to a Beyonce track). […]

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Mar 25, 2014

Internet as “Answer Engine,” Part II

By John Hanacek

The Perils In my previous blog, I outlined what living in an Answer Engine-powered Internet might look like. There is much to be excited for as we move toward the future where the Internet is woven into every facet of life. Think how far we’ve come already and how quickly it happened. Think about your […]

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Mar 21, 2014

Internet as “Answer Engine,” Part I

By John Hanacek

The Promise The Internet is moving beyond a portal to another world and becoming part of the very world itself, meshing with and augmenting physical reality. The idea of the “Alive Web” sees the Internet becoming an increasingly real-time affair.  We are in the beginning. Apps like Snapchat and Twitter already represent the new pace and […]

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Jan 30, 2014

Megacity Slums and Urban Insecurity

By Peter Engelke and Magnus Nordenman

What is the most pressing security challenge facing the world’s megacities? It’s their slums, write Peter Engelke and Magnus Nordenman. Today, they highlight some of the conditions that make them fertile breeding grounds for conflict and instability.

FutureSource

Jan 7, 2014

US Intelligence Failure is Its Focus, Not Its Leaks

By Josh Kerbel

The US intelligence community largely has failed to adapt to the world’s growing complexity and interconnectedness, writes Josh Kerbel, the chief analytic methodologist at the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The intelligence community must leave behind its habit of analyzing complex issues with a narrow focus and instead ‘think big’, taking greater advantage of open-source, unclassified information and interdisciplinary perspectives.

FutureSource

Jan 6, 2014

Technology Policy in an Age of Unknowledge

By Peter Haynes

Technology evolves so quickly that government regulations are outdated from the day they are written. Policymakers should consider the thirty-year-old insights of an obscure British economist for a map to the new approach we need to regulating technologies.

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