Five Corporation-Crushing Disruptive Technologies That Will Empower the Masses

(introdução)

Disruptive Technologies

Everyone knows we are at the mercy of huge corporations in multitude of ways.  Just look at Big Oil.  We are wildly dependent on them as not only individuals, but as a nation and a world.  Though Exxon stands atop the global economic podium, the technology sector isn’t far behind.  Apple made nearly as much in profits in 2012’s fourth quarter as Exxon (a ridiculous $8.2 billion).  Let’s bring that number down to Earth a bit.  Americans are spending an average of $444 per household per year on Apple products alone.  For further evidence, just look around your living room, or better yet, consider the origin of the screen you’re currently staring at.  Chances are one swollen oligopoly or another made all the pieces of technology you’ve surveyed in the last few seconds.

However, chinks in the armor of these untouchable behemoths are beginning to take shape, leading some, like MIT’s Neil Gershenfeld to question the sustainability of today’s techno giants.

It wouldn’t be the first time an unforeseen corporation-crushing power shift occurred.  Unpredictable “Black Swan” events like the advent of the PC and the emergence of MP3 left the music and computing industries confronted with a sea change that was impossible for them to adapt to.

This next wave of disruptive tech will decentralize power, putting it back into the hands of the people.  It will usher in a time where we will make our own belongings, fund our own ventures and master our own bodies and consciousnesses.  What makes this all the sweeter is that huge corporations and governments are either ignorant to it, or powerless to stop the radical change that’s coming.

(Michael Phillip – disinfo.com)