This series of articles has presented key trends in computing technology and the changes in governance we can expect them to drive. It has also cited how innovation has driven human progress since the dawn of civilization. Before we end this series, however, we need to examine one more trend in innovation.
The world is moving away from fossil fuel. Wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energies are replacing oil, coal, and natural gas. Societies are pushing for clean power generation to replace smokestack powerplants. And while it is only 15% of US energy today, over half of the states have established renewal energy targets for the future. But why is this important from a leadership standpoint?
In World Leadership, I identify four kinds of transformative innovations, one of them being the preconditioning innovation. Before every societal level jump, a preconditioning innovation came along to change the environment, preparing societies to make the jump. In fact, it worked in tandem with the elevating innovation to trigger the transition. In the ancient world, mathematics prepared societies to grasp writing, which in turn enabled the rise of fiefdoms (kingdoms). Today’s elevating innovation is computing. But where is today’s preconditioning innovation? I predict the preconditioning innovation will come from the field of energy. I also predict that its role will be to create more incentive for change. Without it, the evolution in governance that we’ve discussed could take centuries; with it, it could happen in decades—within our children’s lifetimes.
For the rest of this series, we will examine the changes already underway in energy and related fields. We will also identify the specific innovation most likely to begin the acceleration. If computing innovation will be the enabler of progress this century, energy innovation will be the driver.
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