In this age of hyper-competition, the Internet constitutes a powerful tool for inventing radical new business models that can leave rivals scrambling. But as brain scientist and entrepreneur Jeffrey Stibel explains in Wired for Thought: How the Brain Is Shaping the Future of the Internet, one must first understand its true nature. The Internet is more than just a series of interconnected computer networks: it’s the first real replication of the human brain outside the human body. To leverage its power, one first needs to understand how the Internet has evolved to take on similarities to the brain.
Program Description
The Internet is a Brain:
Predicting the future of technology and business from the inside out
In his multimedia lecture, Stibel demonstrates how networks (professional, social and otherwise) have changed and what that implies for how people connect and form communities; What the Internet-and online business opportunities-will look like in the future; What the next stage of artificial intelligence will be and what opportunities it will present for businesses.
Addressing the forward-looking interactive aspects and potential predictive power of the Internet – which is evolving to mimic the brain’s own abilities – Stibel asserts that a more personalized Internet will emerge. As Internet applications get to know the real “you,” the Internet will begin to tailor its opinions which will enable very personalized reviews and information, and it will be able to quickly match demographic, psychographic, and behavioral information. And, as the Internet advances farther in this direction, the Internet will get better at interpreting subjective thoughts and opinions, and it will get better and better at making predictions and this will enable businesses to do a better job serving their customers.
Stibel also presents varied examples of how exceptional companies are using their understanding of the Internet’s brain-like powers to create competitive advantage – such as building more effective Web sites, predicting consumer behavior, leveraging social media, and creating a collective consciousness.
Even in such personal areas as healthcare, the Internet will be able to help medical companies like WebMD evolve to become a more interactive service, while significantly bringing down the cost of insurance. The user’s experience will be more like being in a doctor’s office where the patient is being asked a series of symptomatic questions and offered medical advice. People will have their own virtual doctors who will come to know them and their medical histories as well as their real doctors do.
Ultimately, Stibel predicts that the evolution of the Internet will fuel a new era of productivity where software advances will outpace the growth we previously saw in hardware; where intelligence will emerge not from brute force but from educated guesses — remember that the brain is a slow computer so we did not gain intelligence from sheer size or speed. What makes us smart is that are brains are slow, and speculative in many respects. When the Internet can no longer count on productivity gains from brute force or sheer peed, it will turn to other measures and that will surely come from mimicking the power of the brain.
Bio
Jeffrey M. Stibel is a brain scientist and entrepreneur who has helped build numerous public and private companies. Currently Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp, Stibel was President of Web.com, a public company that helps entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses on the Web. He is also Chairman of BrainGate, a brain implant company that allows people to use their thoughts to control electrical devices. He serves on the boards of a number of private and public companies, as well as academic boards for Brown and Tufts University. Stibel studied for his PhD at Brown University, where he was the recipient of the Brain and Behavior Fellowship, and studied business at MIT’s Sloan School of Business.
Stibel predicts that the evolution of the Internet will fuel a new era of productivity where software advances will outpace the growth we previously saw in hardware; where intelligence will emerge not from brute force but from educated guesses — remember that the brain is a slow computer so we did not gain intelligence from sheer size or speed. What makes us smart is that are brains are slow, and speculative in many respects. When the Internet can no longer count on productivity gains from brute force or sheer peed, it will turn to other measures and that will surely come from mimicking the power of the brain.
