How Exponential Trends Challenge Our Notions of Public Service, Nation States, and Positive ChangeAgents

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Presented at SuitsandSpooks 2017 by

David Bray

Our world is changing exponentially. Technologies that were once only available to large nation-state actors are increasingly both available and affordable to individuals. As individuals become super-empowered via such technologies, 20th century models of how organizations operated are disrupted. Last year, the combined revenue of just five companies on the planet exceeded the revenue of Russia, and each company is expected to continue double-digit growth annually for the next seven years. The methods by which nations provided defense and public services also are disrupted. The Mumbai terrorist attacks used freely available web searches, social media, mobile phones, and GPS -- the same tools that billions of humans use daily. Technology itself is amoral; our exponentially changing world will require positive #ChangeAgents if representative forms of government are to survive in the decade ahead.