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http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/05/23/35-a-summary-of-the-new-digital-age-reshaping-the-future-of-people-nations-and-
business-by-eric-schmidt-and-jared-cohen/
The New Di gi tal Age: Reshapi ng
the Future of Peopl e, Nati ons and
Busi ness by Eri c Schmi dt and Jared
Cohen (Knopf; Apri l 23, 2013)
May 23, 2013
#35. A Summary of The New Digital Age: Reshaping the
Future of People, Nations and Business by Eric Schmidt and
Jared Cohen
Table of Contents:
i. Introduction/Synopsis
PART I: THE NEW DIGITAL AGE ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT
1. Increased Ef f iciency in Our Daily Routines
2. Leisure and Entertainment
3. Health Care
4. Business and Work
a. New Business Opportunities
b. The End of Geographic Barriers
5. Identity and Privacy
PART II: THE NEW DIGITAL AGE IN GOVERNMENT AND
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
6. Government Ef f iciency & Law Enf orcement
a. Introduction
b. The Privacy Threat
c. The Security Threat
i. Espionage
ii. Corporate Espionage
7. Cyber-War, Cyber-Terrorism & Automated Weapons
a. Cyber-War and Cyber-Terrorism
b. Automated Warf are
PART III: THE SPREAD OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TO THE DEVELOPING WORLD
8. The Spread of Digital Technology to the Developing World
9. Digital Technology in the Hands of Terrorists
10. Digital Technology in Autocratic and Authoritarian Regimes
a. Digital Technology in the Hands of Revolutionaries
b. Digital Technology in the Hands of Autocratic and Authoritarian Governments
11. Rebuilding Af ter Collapse
a. Digital Technology in Emergency Relief
b. Digital Technology in the Short-Term Af termath of a Crisis
c. Digital Technology in Long-Term Rebuilding
12. Conclusion
i. Introduction/Synopsis
Many of us living in the developed world have come to rely very heavily on digital technology (including the
internet and our mobile/smart devices)indeed, f or many of us, our relationship with our various screens is
nothing short of addiction. And we are not the only ones who are plugging in. We are also increasingly
hooking up our various man-made systems (such as our inf rastructural systems and f inancial systems) to
the internet as well. Given how radically digital technology has transf ormed our lives, it is incredible to think
how recently all of this change has occurred; f or, indeed, all of this technology has come upon us entirely in
the past 15 to 20 years. This is signif icant because it reminds us that the age of connectivity is but in its
inf ancy, and that most of the changes are yet to come.
This is true f or us here in the developed world, but is even more so the case f or those living in the
developing world, where almost 5 billion people are expected to go f rom no connectivity to f ull connectivity
within the next 20 years. While it may well be the case that the overall impact of the connectivity revolution
will be enormously benef icial, we would be f ool to think that the impact will be none but positive. With
f orces such as criminals, rebel groups, terrorists and rogue states prepared to take advantage of the new
technology, the connectivity revolution poses some very serious challenges as well. Google executive Eric
Schmidt and U.S. policy and media expert Jared Cohen are particularly well-placed to assess how all of the
upcoming changes will play out, and in their new book The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People,
Nations, and Business the two let us in on their ruminations and prognostications.
Beginning closer to home, the authors chart how the new digital age stands to increase our ef f iciency and
of f er new opportunities f or both business and leisure. To begin with, the two argue that most of our day to
day routines and workload will be streamlined by way of being hooked up to the internet and aided by
various artif icial intelligence machines. Over and above this, consider some of the extravagant possibilities:
imagine attending a 9 a.m. teleconf erence with business associates f rom around the world in a 3D virtual
space, where each individuals comments are translated into your native language near perf ectly, and near
instantaneously. In the evening you enter a dif f erent 3D virtual space that captures a sporting event in real-
time. Af ter that you enjoy a holographic recreation of your wedding with your spouse.
As much as we will come to rely on the internet and other smart technologies, there is a signif icant
drawback to all of this high-technology, and that is that more and more of our personal inf ormation will be
captured and stored than ever. Much of this inf ormation will be available f or anyone who is interested to
see (f riend and f oe alike), and even more of it will be accessible with a bit of underhanded ef f ort.
On the side of government, its operations, like our own, will be streamlined by way of being brought online
including in the realm of physical inf rastructure (i.e. water, sanitation and power). In addition, the data
streams captured f rom our own activity and that of our systems will grant us new insights into our behavior
that can be put to good use by governments and businesses alike. On the negative side, all of this
inf ormation in the hands of government (and potentially in the hands of savvy criminals, terrorists and
enemy states) poses signif icant privacy and security concerns (both authors f oresee cyber-crime, cyber-
terrorism, and cyber-war being signif icant issues in the f uture). Rest assured that a very robust cyber-
security industry will emerge, and that the conf lict between privacy and security will continue to play out in a
very prominent way.
As digital technology continues to spread to the poorest parts of the world, new economic opportunities
will spread in its wake that will help pull these parts of the world out of povertyand also aid in the push
towards more democracy. However, criminal and extremist groups operating there will also increasingly be
given access to the new technology, and it stands to help both in their enterprises. On the bright side,
digital technology will also make it easier to track down and uncover illegal syndicates and bring them to
justice.
Here are Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen discussing their new book on PBS News Hour:
What f ollows is a f ull executive summary of The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations
and Business by Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen.
PART I: THE NEW DIGITAL AGE ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT
1. Increased Efficiency in Our Daily Routines
Beginning on the home-f ront, the authors argue that the new digital age promises to usher in a world of
impressive ef f iciencies. Take house chores, f or example. Technology will not only help with the planning of
these domestic necessities (loc. 356), but will also perf orm many of them f or us. As the authors explain,
the average American consumer will f ind it af f ordable to own a handf ul of dif f erent multipurpose robots
f airly soon. The technology in iRobots Roomba vacuum cleaner, the progenitor of this f ield of consumer
home robots (f irst introduced in 2002), will only become more sophisticated and multipurpose in time.
Future varieties of home robots should be able to handle other household duties, electrical work and even
plumbing issues with relative ease (loc. 380).
Moving beyond house-chores, digital technology will also help us with virtually all of the mundane activities
that we are required to plan out and do on a day to day basis (such as grocery shopping, powering up our
cars and various devices etc). Much of this will be the result of the ubiquitous presence of smart devices
that will all be integrated with one another, and with which we will interact through sophisticated voice-
recognition sof tware, and even thought-controlled motion technology (both of which are advancing quickly
[loc. 383-87, 400]). As the authors explain, centralizing the many moving parts of ones lif e into an easy-to-
use, almost intuitive system of inf ormation management and decision making will give our interactions with
technology an ef f ortless f eel these systems will f ree us of many small burdensincluding errands, to-
do-lists and assorted monitoring tasksthat today add stress and chip away at our mental f ocus
throughout the day (loc. 359).
When it comes to transportation, self -driving cars (which are already legal in 2 states [loc. 473]) will take
care of much of this f or us, leaving us f ree to work (or play) at other things (loc. 473). While the prospect
of self -driving cars is certainly exciting f or those of us living and working in the city, the biggest impact of
these vehicles will be on the transport and trucking industry. For example, the authors ask us to imagine
the possibilities f or long-haul truck-driving. Rather than testing the biological limits of human drivers with
thirty-hour trips, the computer can take over the primary responsibility and drive the truck f or stretches as
the driver rests (loc. 478).
Here is a nice clip about Googles driverless car f rom the BBC:
2. Leisure and Entertainment
Beyond of f ering us ef f iciency in our day to day routines, the new digital age also promises us many new
possibilities in the area of leisure and entertainment. To begin with, the authors assure us that we will be
presented us with an abundant supply of music and video content at very low cost (if not f ree), and with
the content providers duly paid f or their output. As the authors explain, contemporary services like Spotif y,
which of f ers a large catalog of live-streaming music f or f ree, give us a sense of what the f uture will look
like: an endless amount of content, available anytime, on almost any device, and at little or no cost to
users, with copyrights and revenue streams preserved (loc. 526). (Just how revenue streams will be
preserved where entertainment is of f ered f or f ree is not discussednor do the authors address how the
issue of pirating might play outtwo glaring omissions in a book that is meant to explore the f uture of the
digital age).
OR
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