It was an interesting and exciting start of the academic year.

I gave my class on “Creative Thinking in a Digital Age” to a group of new students. I also spoke to a group of lawyers about the impact of technology on the legal industry and presented to IT auditors on “living with intelligent machines”.

The common thread linking these talks was the “exponential growth of new technology” and how it is changing the world.

It is always inspiring for me to share insights about the impact of disruptive innovation with a broader audience. I genuinely believe in teaching as an exercise in “co-creation”.

Last week, one issue became very clear to me:

When we talk about new technology, we all tend to focus on how it will change the world (in the future).

For instance, we try to predict the impact of artificial intelligence, robots and blockchain technology on our lives. But, in doing so, we often neglect how technology has already changed the world.

The “gap” between the “world as we know it” and the “digital world” is rapidly closing. All of us are — to some extent — “Digital Natives”.

We can no longer think and act using traditional models and concepts.

We can no longer rely on traditional authorities.

We should pay more attention to understanding how the future is already here. Yet, many of the changes that have already occurred are non-obvious and many people may not have even noticed them.

Let me explain.
What Defines Our Society Today?

Here are four “non-obvious” ways that digital technology has already changed the world.

More could be added, but these are the things that affect my work and life. All of them redefine and automate “trust”, “confidence”, and “quality”.

The Disruption of “Brands”

“Brands” have always been important in determining consumer choice.

The rationale is simple. Brands are essential in a highly competitive and visual led market place. The power of a brand is determined by two factors: how a product or service performs, but also what it stands for.

An established brand signals quality and superiority to consumers. Brands have authority and that authority motivates consumers. A brand creates trust and builds loyalty.

And yet, in recent years, the percentage of consumers that are attached to brands has declined significantly. This is a key finding of market research by “Digital Intelligence” firm L2 and has been discussed by its founder, Scott Galloway.