by Bill Gates
College dropout and computer whiz kid, corporate executive and philanthropist, William H. Gates (1955- ) was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. His interest in computers, which began at the age of thirteen, led Gates to realize the potential of a standard operating platform for the computer era, and through the success of his company Microsoft, he became one of the world's richest men. Criticized for its monopolistic practices, Microsoft was sued by the United States government in the 1990's. In 2000, Gates established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has become the world's largest philanthropy dedicated to improving health and education worldwide. The following essay was published in 1999.
Human beings are not the biggest animals. We're not the strongest or fastest. We're not the sharpest in sight or smell. It's amazing how we survived against the many fierce creatures of nature. We survived and prospered because of our brains. We evolved to fill the cognitive niche. We learned how to use tools, to build shelter, to invent agriculture, to domesticate livestock, to develop civilization and culture, to cure and prevent disease. Our tools and technologies have helped us to shape the environment around us.
I'm an optimist. I believe in progress. I'd much rather be alive today than at any time in history—and not just because in an earlier age my skill set wouldn't have been as valuable and I'd have been a prime candidate for some beast's dinner. The tools of the Industrial Age extended the capabilities of our muscles. The tools of the digital age extend the capabilities of our minds. I'm even happier for my children, who will come of age in this new world.
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By embracing the digital age, we can accelerate the positive effects and mitigate the challenges, such as privacy and have-vs.-have-not. If we sit back and wait for the digital age to come to us on terms defined by others, we won't be able to do either. The Web lifestyle can increase citizen involvement in government. Many of the decisions to be made are political and social, not technical. These include how we ensure access for everyone and how we protect children. Citizens in every culture must engage on the social and political impact of digital technology to ensure that the new digital age reflects the society they want to create.
If we are reactive and let change overwhelm us or pass us by, we will perceive change negatively. If we are proactive, seek to understand the future now, and embrace change, the idea of the unexpected can be positive and uplifting. Astronomer Carl Sagan in his last book, Billions and Billions, said: "The prediction I can make with the highest confidence is that the most amazing discoveries will be the ones we are not today wise enough to foresee."
A DNA plate used for sequencing and mapping the human genome, Rockville, Maryland, 2000
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As tough and uncertain as the digital world makes it for business—it's evolve rapidly or die—we will all benefit. We're going to get improved products and services, more responsiveness to complaints, lower costs, and more choices. We're going to get better government and social services at substantially less expense.
This world is coming. A big part of it comes through businesses using a digital nervous system to radically improve their processes.
A digital nervous system can help business redefine itself and its role in the future, but energy or paralysis, success or failure, depends on business leaders. Only you can prepare your organization and make the investments necessary to capitalize on the rapidly dawning digital age.
Digital tools magnify the abilities that make us unique in the world: the ability to think, the ability to articulate our thoughts, the ability to work together to act on those thoughts. I strongly believe that if companies empower their employees to solve problems and give them potent tools to do this with, they will always be amazed at how much creativity and initiative will blossom forth.