The Oracle

"For most of this century we have viewed communications as a conduit, a pipe between physical locations on the planet. What's happened now is that the conduit has become so big and interesting that communication has become more than a conduit, it has become a destination in its own right - what in the vernacular is called cyberspace."

Paul is also Silicon Valley's resident intellectual. He's the big-picture guy who articulates the trends. He is preoccupied by the long-range implications of the information revolution for business and society. Paul is a senior member of the Institute for the Future, a nonprofit think tank that consults to a wide range of business and government entities, including telecommunications and consumer companies.

PAUL SAFFO is director of the Institute for the Future, a twenty-nine-year-old research and forecasting foundation located in Menlo Park, California.