These days, there's a lot of talk about the future—with good reason. Converging technologies are exponentially increasing the speed at which life is changing. Already, high-tech innovations are upending our work, homes, and societal institutions; and this will continue to grow at a dizzying pace. Over the next three decades, the world will become very different.

According to futurist Ray Kurzweil: We won't experience one hundred years of technological advances in the twenty-first century. We will witness the order of 20,000 years of progress measured at today's rate, or about 1,000 times the achievements of the twentieth century.

Experts call this the Exponential Age.

Exponentials are very challenging for the human brain to comprehend. We think linearly, in incremental steps, while exponential technologies bring change at breathtaking speeds.

This chart depicts the increasing rate of change over the next 100 years. Let's break it down:

Twenty years from now, the rate of change will be 4x what it is today. That means a year of change (at today's rate) will take place in three months.

Forty years from now, the rate of change will be 16x what it is today. A year of change will take place in 11 days.

It's mind-boggling!

While many are focused on the challenges that may lay ahead, others anticipate an era of great opportunity, the awakening of latent talent, and an explosion of creativity.

They expect the convergence of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and web3 to create a world where almost anything you can imagine is possible.

They call it the Age of Wonder or the Imagination Age, where creativity and imagination become the primary drivers of economic value.

In his provocative and compelling new book Virtual Society, Herman Narula writes about the coming metaverse—where users work in the "fulfillment economy."

Narula and other metaverse founders are building virtual worlds where "fulfillment is not tangential to the purpose of work but is the very purpose of work."

Technology will soon automate away many jobs but will also create whole new layers of possible occupations in web3 and the metaverse. And unlike the mindless, drudgery-filled jobs of current economies, creativity and human fulfillment could be the future of why we all work.

Narula writes, "I believe the metaverse will make the physical world a better place and will improve our lives—primarily by freeing us to do more, know more, be more, and experience more."

This future is not some utopian dream.

Hundreds of thousands of founders, developers, and scientists are building this new era for humanity. Visionary venture capitalists are deploying billions of dollars into these exponential technologies. This convergence of genius minds, digital tech, and big money makes this future inevitable for everyone.

Change is scary when it happens to you. It's not if you are a part of engineering it.

That needs to be the focus for all of us now. We need to join the engineers of change. Embrace these emerging technologies and have a voice in how they are built and utilized. We must get off the sidelines and play our part in this serious business that is the future.

First published in Future of the World newsletter 11/04/2022.

These days, there's a lot of talk about the future—with good reason. Converging technologies are exponentially increasing the speed at which life is changing. Already, high-tech innovations are upending our work, homes, and societal institutions; and this will continue to grow at a dizzying pace. Over the next three decades, the world will become very different.

According to futurist Ray Kurzweil: We won't experience one hundred years of technological advances in the twenty-first century. We will witness the order of 20,000 years of progress measured at today's rate, or about 1,000 times the achievements of the twentieth century.

Experts call this the Exponential Age.

Exponentials are very challenging for the human brain to comprehend. We think linearly, in incremental steps, while exponential technologies bring change at breathtaking speeds.

This chart depicts the increasing rate of change over the next 100 years. Let's break it down:

Twenty years from now, the rate of change will be 4x what it is today. That means a year of change (at today's rate) will take place in three months.

Forty years from now, the rate of change will be 16x what it is today. A year of change will take place in 11 days.

It's mind-boggling!

While many are focused on the challenges that may lay ahead, others anticipate an era of great opportunity, the awakening of latent talent, and an explosion of creativity.

They expect the convergence of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and web3 to create a world where almost anything you can imagine is possible.

They call it the Age of Wonder or the Imagination Age, where creativity and imagination become the primary drivers of economic value.

In his provocative and compelling new book Virtual Society, Herman Narula writes about the coming metaverse—where users work in the "fulfillment economy."

Narula and other metaverse founders are building virtual worlds where "fulfillment is not tangential to the purpose of work but is the very purpose of work."

Technology will soon automate away many jobs but will also create whole new layers of possible occupations in web3 and the metaverse. And unlike the mindless, drudgery-filled jobs of current economies, creativity and human fulfillment could be the future of why we all work.

Narula writes, "I believe the metaverse will make the physical world a better place and will improve our lives—primarily by freeing us to do more, know more, be more, and experience more."

This future is not some utopian dream.

Hundreds of thousands of founders, developers, and scientists are building this new era for humanity. Visionary venture capitalists are deploying billions of dollars into these exponential technologies. This convergence of genius minds, digital tech, and big money makes this future inevitable for everyone.

Change is scary when it happens to you. It's not if you are a part of engineering it.

That needs to be the focus for all of us now. We need to join the engineers of change. Embrace these emerging technologies and have a voice in how they are built and utilized. We must get off the sidelines and play our part in this serious business that is the future.

First published in Future of the World newsletter 11/04/2022.