Skip to content

Technology & Innovation — November 18, 2011

Sean Parker on Future Tech Trends

Parker, the creator of Napster and a key player in the rise of Facebook, is, as usual, thinking big. He worries about a warring tech industry and envisions how social media can transform politics.

bigthinkeditors

What’s the Latest Development?

At the Techonomy conference in Tuscon, Arizona, this week, Parker spoke on a wide range of topics united by a common theme: Web technology. So ubiquitous and influential are modern communication media that Parker believes they have the power to solve major political problems, like the undue influence of money in our democracy. He also concedes social media abed some problems, such as terrorism, by allowing anonymous interaction across wide distances.

What’s the Big Idea?

Parker is equally concerned about the future of the online tech industry. He fears that big alliances are becoming more common and more confused, a situation he compares to Europe pre-World War One: “It’s hard to know who’s at war with whom. You’ll see Facebook align with Spotify. Google will pretend to be Switzerland and secretly do deals with everyone on the side, Microsoft will align more with Facebook, and Apple will stay on its own trying to build the Death Star.”

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

Related

Two hands making a pinky promise with a notification icon showing one like against a blue background.

“Tend and befriend”: The simple relationship hack for burnout resilience

You really can get by with a little help from your friends — if you also look beyond your personal to-do list.

Ancient bust of a bearded man, believed to depict one of history's generous leaders, with detailed facial features, set against a plain turquoise background.

Aristotle plus generosity: How to soften the hard-boiled leader

Tough and cutthroat leaders are celebrated in a results-driven culture — but there is another path to C-suite success.

first contact

Starts With A Bang

The unsurprising non-detection of intelligent aliens

Life arose on Earth very early on. After a few billion years, here we are: intelligent and technologically advanced. Where's everyone else?

A person in a dark robe wielding a glowing red lightsaber on a desert dune under a night sky with a large crescent moon and a visible planet.

Does science fiction shape the future?

Six visionary science fiction authors on the social impact of their work.

A human brain preserved in a clear glass container filled with a yellowish preserving fluid, set against a bright, light green background.

13.8

The key problem with the “brain in a vat” thought experiment

Even with the best technology imaginable, you'd probably never be able to exist as a consciously aware brain in a vat.

Up Next

Technology & Innovation

Asia’s Rise, the West’s Fall?

Is the West presently severely disadvantaged with regard to Asia, if not in relative decline?