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"The common notion that the "future can't be predicted" is demonstrably false with regard to a wide number of accelerating physical-computational trends, even though we do not yet know specifically how those technologies will be implemented. We can no longer ignore the profound technological changes occurring all around us."
-John Smart, Technology and Human Enhancement (2006)
When human kind entered the scene, everything changed. We were able to step out of the struggle of natural selection and determine our own destiny. Our minds and thumbs allowed us to make tools to help us along, and we soon discovered that our physical limitations could be augmented with the help of technology. Long since the time when man first started to create Stone Age innovations, our society has continued down the path of dependence on technology to separate ourselves further from nature.
We now have machines that can instantly connect us to most places in the world, machines that can store files that our small memories, in comparison, could never remember, and machines that basically think for us in many instances. With each subsequent invention, the possibilities of future technological progress increases exponentially. Vernor Vinge, in Signs of the Singularity (2009), comments on this phenomena called Moore's Law, "If the economic demand for improved hardware continues, it looks like Moore's Law can continue for some time-though eventually we'll need novel component technology (perhaps carbon nanotubes) and some new method of high-speed emplacement (perhaps self-assembly)." He goes further to talk about the economic implications of Moore's Law, "It enables improvement in communications, embedded logic, information storage, planning, and design-that is, in areas that are directly or indirectly important to almost all enterprise. As long as the software people can successfully exploit Moore's Law, the demand for this progress should continue." If this is true then we can expect the free market in capitalistic society to have a vested interest in the progression of, and a deep connection with modern technology. We have indeed seen the effect that the invention of the television had on advertising. No one can dispute the billions of dollars that have been spent on TV advertising throughout its existence. However TV was just the first step. The marketing landscape is switching from traditional media to a focus in the digital realm. In Digital Prophets: The Future is Now (2007), Kenneth Hein explains from the vantage of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's crystal ball that, "In 10 years, traditional media as we know it will disappear. Supplanting it will be a new world where everything will be delivered digitally over IP Internet technology. Media will grow so tailored to personal tastes that you'll be able to watch the local high school's semifinals live on your big-screen TV." If this is the case, we can expect advertising to move right along with the transition to digital media. This site explores the future of advertising in the digital age to come. It acknowledges the exciting possibilities that the internet and other technologies can possibly provide in bettering our world. It also recognizes the value of such current and future innovations but stresses that we must proceed with caution into this new domain. There are many concerns about the changes brought about by future technology but this site will only address concerns with future advertising technology.
"The need to belong is more important than the need to be rich. Meaning matters more than money and what it buys."
-Richard Eckersley, Techno-Utopia and Human Values (2006)