Technology

The consumer is far better educated today than he ever was. Consumers don't need to rely on intermediaries to tell them what is good or bad- people are social, they share information with friends and strangers, and go to a broader community for help and assistance.

There's a huge gap between the inspiration side of travel and the execution into the purchase path. That latter part of the process is so universally horrid that everyone hates it- and nobody is doing anything about it.

All the market research we have done shows that consumers use diamonds to mark special moments in their lives because they are timeless, have been in the ground 3 billion years and are unique. For all of those reasons, when you ask a consumer, particularly a woman, if they would be happy to have a synthetic diamond engagement ring? the answer is no…

150 years ago, Aluminium was the rarest metal we knew of on the surface of planet Earth. Through technology we learned how to extract it from the bauxite in the Earth's crust, and discovered it was the most abundant metal. We went from Napoleon serving Kings and Queens on the finest Aluminium plate-ware to much more money made on Aluminium within 20 years.

It's multi-fold. Firstly resources that are useful on Earth that we may get from outer space and secondly- which is perhaps a newer idea- is resources that will be useful in space itself. Water is the essence of life. In space it takes on a whole new form. We can use water as a radiation shield. Water is a molecule made of hydrogen and oxygen- and that happens to be rocket fuel.

All of the research we've done exploring space has now allowed small teams- with modest funds- to do what it once took entire governments to do. The design and collaborative power of an individual engineer or technologist is more powerful than it's ever been. The tasks themselves are getting more accessible too.

The discipline I worked in was called SETI- The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Of course, that latter word is a misnomer. We don't know how to define intelligence or detect it at a distance. What we have done is to use technology as a proxy for intelligence- and therefore we have been looking for evidence of someone else's technology.

Pioneering astronomer & SETI Institute director searching for extraterrestrial intelligence

Despite huge and on-going technological advances in electronic transactions technologies, it [paper currency] has remained surprisingly durable, even if its major uses seem to be buried in the world underground and illegal economy.

Economist & Harvard Professor; Former IMF Chief Economist

BitCoin might not be the final model but it is definitely here to stay. Many have criticized BitCoin because it enables illegal transactions. I think the critique is lame. Did you know that 75% of the value of all U.S. cash is in $100 bills? Cash is the problem.

Duke University finance professor; pioneering research on market anomalies and asset pricing

The block chain or general ledger could be a secure repository of private information, property ownership, and conditional contracts. For example, consider buying a car. The dealership sells it to you and it goes into the block chain. You have a private code that identifies you as the owner.

Duke University finance professor; pioneering research on market anomalies and asset pricing

The BitCoin general ledger is called the block chain. It is remarkably secure. To break into the chain, you would have to amass 25,000 of the world's fastest supercomputers. That seems completely infeasible.

Duke University finance professor; pioneering research on market anomalies and asset pricing

Crypto-currency is a means by which people can exchange property in a secure way without the use of a central institution like a bank or the Federal Reserve. The currency is digital and particular crypto-currencies like BitCoin go to extreme lengths so that you can only spend your digital currency once.

Duke University finance professor; pioneering research on market anomalies and asset pricing

Sometimes people view disability as something permanent when, in fact, our bodies are malleable with technology. One could be disabled for a portion of one's life, and then not be for another; the body is malleable and transformable with technology. Disability is not a fixed condition, it's fluid. This is good news- it means that we can ultimately eliminate disability

Bioengineer and amputee who pioneered advanced prosthetic limb technology

A lot of businesses these days are markets. Companies like Google make markets for advertisements, Amazon is a market in and of its own right. Uber, AirBnB and many more are becoming big businesses by creating markets.

Nobel Prize-winning economist specializing in market design theory

Generally power is diffusing. New corporations such as Google and Facebook are also examples of power diffusing from nation states and moving to new forms of entities. Technology will only accelerate this trend.

Former NATO Supreme Commander & Military Strategist

We have relatively small groups like Al Qaeda, The Taliban and the Islamic State who are capable of challenging the mightiest and most advanced militaries of the world.

Venezuelan editor, author, and international affairs analyst and commentator