Institute Events

‘Perfect Capitalism’ and the Future of Technology

'Perfect Capitalism' and the Future of Technology
clock
2 min 39 sec

Callan’s 37th annual National Conference drew a range of high-profile speakers. This post and others (previous ones here and here) will recap their views on key economic and geopolitical issues.

Dr. Michio Kaku, a professor of physics at the City University of New York and author of Physics of the Future, boldly set out how he feels the next 50 to 100 years will develop, based on the interviews he did with 300 scientists for his book. It is a future, he said, in which the internet will be replaced with what he called the “brain net,” an always-on and always available set of technologies that in his view would vastly improve life.

Kaku

The work that will lead to this potential future, he said, will come from science and technology, which has historically been the source of wealth. Physicists, he pointed out, devised the transistor, the laser, radio and TV, and the MRI, and helped develop the space program and the internet.

But that progress is not continuous; instead it comes in waves. So far, he said, there have been three great waves of wealth creation:

  1. Steam power, which led to the railroads and other advances and helped create the working class, but which created a bubble whose excesses spurred a backlash that led to the development of Marxism;
  2. Electricity, which created the modern working class but also another bubble, which resulted in the rise of industrial unions; and
  3. High technology, which helped spur globalization but created yet another bubble and led to a global rise of populism and nationalism.

The fourth wave will involve artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. In a future in which chips cost a penny—less than scrap paper now—the internet and its successor will be ubiquitous. As a result of these advances he foresaw developments such as smart contact lenses, which would tell people who they were meeting with and, if necessary, translate what they said. It would allow mass customization of products—including body parts perfect for each individual. Even wallpaper will become interactive, changing colors at a whim, or being used as a screen for sessions with “robo-advisers,” such as a doctor in the middle of the night for urgent care.

These technologies will also lead to what he called “perfect capitalism,” in which uncertainty about supply and demand, about pricing and the quality of goods, will be eliminated. Imagine walking into any store and knowing immediately the best price for a product, and having a complete report on its quality. “The future will be frictionless, seamless, personalized, and digitalized,” he said.

And finally, he foresaw significant advances in medical technology as it, like other industries, becomes digitalized. The technology already exists to perform “liquid biopsies” to detect cancer and other diseases at a far earlier stage than before. He predicted a future in which the human brain will be mapped, just as the human genome was. With that advance, he said, doctors will be able to use “brain pacemakers” in Alzheimer’s patients to recreate memories for them when they forget things. Even dreams, he said, will be able to be recorded.

“The future will be frictionless, seamless, personalized, and digitalized.”

Posted by

Share
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Related Posts
Operations

So What the Heck Is SUBICO?

Stephen Trousdale
Operations

2017 National Conference: On Challenges for Institutional Investors

Stephen Trousdale
Macro Trends

2017 National Conference: On Long-Term Financial and Economic Trends

Stephen Trousdale
Private Markets

Private Real Estate Debt and Middle Market Direct Lending

Stephen Trousdale
Macro Trends

2017 National Conference: On the Rising Opposition to Globalization

Stephen Trousdale

Callan Family Office

You are now leaving Callan LLC’s website and going to Callan Family Office’s website. Callan Family Office is not affiliated with Callan LLC.  Callan LLC has licensed the Callan® trademark to Callan Family Office for use in providing investment advisory services to ultra-high net worth clients, family foundations, and endowments. Callan Family Office and Callan LLC are independent, unaffiliated investment advisory firms separately registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Callan LLC is not responsible for the services and content on Callan Family Office’s website. Inclusion of this link does not constitute or imply an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by Callan LLC of their website, or its contents, and Callan LLC is not responsible or liable for your use of it. When visiting their website, you are subject to Callan Family Office’s terms of use and privacy policies.