A society of electronic agents will be able to communicate far more efficiently than a collection of human cooks, maids, chauffeurs, and butlers. Rumors become facts and travel at the speed of light … All of a sudden, our smallest actions leave digital trails. For the time being, these “bit-prints” are isolated instances of very small parts of our lives. But over time, they will expand, overlap, and intercommunicate.
Predictor: Negroponte, Nicholas
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 column for Wired magazine, Nicholas Negroponte, founder of MIT’s Media Lab, writes: ”A society of electronic agents will be able to communicate far more efficiently than a collection of human cooks, maids, chauffeurs, and butlers. Rumors become facts and travel at the speed of light … All of a sudden, our smallest actions leave digital trails. For the time being, these ‘bit-prints’ are isolated instances of very small parts of our lives. But over time, they will expand, overlap, and intercommunicate. Blockbuster, American Express, and your local telephone company can suddenly pool their bits in a few keystrokes and learn a great deal about you. This is just the beginning: each credit-card charge, each supermarket checkout, and each postal delivery can be added to the equation. Extrapolate this trend and, sooner or later, you are but an approximation of your own computer model. Does this bother you?”
Biography:Nicholas Negroponte, a co-founder of MIT’s Media Lab and a popular speaker and writer about technologies of the future, wrote one of the 1990s’ best-selling books about the new future of communications, “Being Digital.” (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Privacy/Surveillance
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: 000 000 111 – Double Agents
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.03/negroponte_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney