computing and semiconductors shifted the economy from industrial production to information processing
microprocessors made computers smaller, cheaper, and widely accessible
PCs entered homes and offices, becoming the default global work tool
the internet connected the world and reshaped communication, commerce, and media
software platforms—Windows, Office, databases, enterprise systems—became core infrastructure
companies like Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon scaled into global platforms
data became a strategic economic asset, powering search, advertising, logistics, and analytics
cloud, mobile, and AI extended computing into daily life, making digital systems ubiquitous

What Drove the Transformation

semiconductor breakthroughs drove exponential gains in computing power (Moore’s Law)
personal computers standardized workflows and massively boosted productivity
the internet removed geographic barriers and created global digital markets
enterprise digitization replaced paper systems with databases, ERPs, CRMs, and analytics
mobile computing and cloud platforms made software always-on, global, and real-time
big tech firms leveraged network effects, scale, and data to dominate digital markets
falling costs of compute, storage, and distribution enabled continuous innovation

The Economic Lessons

general-purpose technologies reshape economies when they make information cheaper and faster
exponential progress compounds — year after year improvements in chips, networks, and software
digital platforms gain power from network effects, data, and near-zero marginal costs
revolutions unfold in waves: hardware → software → internet → mobile → cloud → AI
foundational technologies that transform information flow create the deepest long-term value
the Information Age is still early — future waves will build on today’s digital foundations

The Information Age (1970s–Present)