It will produce those things if there are policies tuned to provide incentives for innovation without skewing the creative dynamic. There must be a greater sensitivity to the timely demands of billion-beats a second world, where business opportunities are rich, but fleeting. Licenses and regulatory approvals that take months and years are anathema to the silicon world in which technological lifetimes pass in that amount of time. There must also be a corresponding sensitivity to capital markets. The current communications revolution demands that we keep our crystal balls in the closet and allow the market dynamic to efficiently guide us to changes that our citizens value.
History is filled with examples of failed predictions about technological innovation and progress.
In fact, I always keep handy a list of failed predictions because there is no shortage of them. I think there is a world market for about five computers. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will. It undoubtedly will, and the potential for that is exciting. And if you think Moore's Law is fast, just think about the fact that fiber-optics are doubling every 12 months, wireless every 9, and the Internet every 4.