The New Masters of the Universe: From Silicon Valley, a New Elite Is Coming
Aside from the somewhat out-of-place right wing tone, this is all basically true.<p>About 5-6 years ago, it occurred to me that:<p><pre><code>    - information is the new oil
    - politics is the exchange of power
</code></pre>
which implies:<p><pre><code>    - in 2030 or so, we will have someone with a tech background as president.
</code></pre>
Why did we have George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush as presidents?  Because they developed immense wealth through controlling the flow of oil around the globe.  They went to Saudi Arabia and brought back oil.<p>Then they exchanged this power for political power.<p>Information is like oil in that <i>everybody</i> needs it.  You can&#x27;t build a house, open a restaurant, import shoes, etc. without energy, and you can&#x27;t do any of it without information either.  Whereas you can open a restaurant without building a house.  These two things are special and fundamental.<p>Now we have the flow of information concentrated in the hands of the very few.  We rent our devices from Apple and Google, and they exercise control over what apps you run on it, and what content is surfaced through searches.  Things that happen on Facebook can change the course of your life.<p>In the near future, there will be undoubtedly be someone who exchanges this immense power for political power, just as the Bushes did.  I&#x27;m not saying this is good or bad -- it&#x27;s just a fact, in an almost mathematical sense.