OUR LIVES ARE marked by technology and innovation. We have collective memories, such as when the world paused to watch Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. We have individual memories, like receiving a first Zoom call with a distant family member during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. We remember these as times when the world changed in a moment and the impossible became possible.
These moments also open our minds to future innovation. Though for some it may be hard to imagine working side by side with virtual intelligent agents and humanoid robots, it's worth reminding ourselves that many of the technologies that we take for granted today were once considered miracles of science. It wasn't that long ago that someone with a touchscreen iPhone would attract jealous attention from the flip-phone-wielding traveler sitting next to them on a plane.
Figure 1.1 Time required for online services to reach one million users.
It's especially interesting if we notice how quickly these innovations become part of the status quo. The acceptance of new technologies is getting faster. Figure 1.1 shows the velocity of adoption for several online services introduced since 1999. Netflix took 3.5 years to reach one million users. ChatGPT took five days.1
In addition to this increase in velocity, we've also seen significant turmoil. Disruption seems ...
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