technology

Why Technology Prophet George Gilder Predicts Big Tech’s Disruption

Forbes publisher and columnist Rich Karlgaard sits down with Discovery senior fellow George Gilder for a wide ranging Q&A session about tech progress, the future of innovation, and Life After Google. — “Over the last four decades, George Gilder has been one of the most influential writers on economic growth and prosperity, and technology’s key creative role in them. In 1981 Gilder’s book, Wealth and Poverty, hit all the bestseller lists and helped define the “supply-side,” low-tax economic revolution that characterized the eight years of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Reagan himself frequently cited Wealth and Poverty. In the late 1980s Gilder turned his attention to technology and wrote several books predicting tech’s future impact, including Microcosm (1989), Life After Television (1990), Telecosm (2000) and The Silicon Eye (2006), as well as The Scandal of Money (2009). Gilder is presently wrapping up his next book, Life After Google, which will publish later this year.”

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Fire-Maker-Michael-Denton

Fire-Maker

From computers to airplanes to life-giving medicines, the technological marvels of our world were made possible by the human use of fire. But the use of fire itself was made possible by an array of features built into the human body and the planet. In Fire-Maker, biologist Michael Denton explores the special features of nature that equipped humans to to harness the powers of fire Read More ›

FBI’s iPhone Request Threatens Innovation

Frustrated by its unsuccessful attempt to access the contents of an iPhone that was used by one of the San Bernardino shooting suspects in December, the FBI has obtained a court order requiring Apple’s cooperation. Although the FBI insists this is an exceptional request, limited to a single iPhone, in fact it has grave consequences for tech firms. Read DI Senior Fellow Hance Haney’s analysis at The Stream.

Is Capitalism Based on Greed – George Gilder author of Knowledge and Power

In this short clip bestselling author and influential thinker George Gilder looks at whether or not Capitalism is based on greed. In his new book Knowledge and Power: The Information Theory of Capitalism and How It Is Revolutionizing Our World, Gilder synthesizes his analysis of technology and economics to build a new theory of capitalism. Read More ›

Fans Of Plug-in Cars Build Their Power Base

Sometime in the future, your car may make your round-trip commute with electricity generated from rooftop solar cells. When you want to venture east of the Cascades for a weekend winery tour, an internal-combustion engine — powered by biofuels — would kick into action. This vision has helped propel plug-in hybrid cars from a footnote in automotive technology into a serious alternative that car manufacturers are working to bring to market within the next five to 10 years. Meanwhile, a grass-roots network of plug-in converts — professors, students, garage mechanics and others — is already fashioning the first generation of these vehicles in hopes of prodding the industry into faster action. They say these cars can get more than 100 miles per gallon for some travel. Read More ›

Visions Of A Northwest Hybrid Car Future Abound

Imagine at first hundreds of Northwesterners -- but later thousands, and ultimately tens of thousands or even millions -- plugging in their electric hybrid cars every night. Then they all commute the next day without dipping into their fuel tanks. Imagine that the other cars on the road, still using fuel systems more like today's, get around on the byproducts of cow poop or wheat stubble. Imagine further that this new fleet of cars carries devices to signal the traffic-light system, reducing congestion by half at rush hour. And imagine these same devices prevent cars from running into one another no matter what their idiot drivers do. The same devices could offer drivers a choice between the fastest route, the cheapest route (because many roads will have tolls) and the "greenest" route. These were some of the visions that emerged Monday at a broad-ranging conference of Seattle-area businesspeople, utility executives, public officials, environmentalists and others titled "Jump Start to a Secure, Clean Energy Future" at Microsoft Corp.'s Redmond campus. Read More ›

Info-War Invades Iraq

On a single horrific night in March 1945, more than 300 B-29 Superfortress bombers saturated Tokyo with napalm and incendiary explosives. The resulting firestorm devoured a quarter of the city, leaving at least one hundred thousand civilians dead and countless others hideously wounded. Read More ›