Moore and more and more

Technology has changed just about every aspect of our lives: the way we communicate; the way we access information; the way we conduct business; and the way we entertain ourselves. It has become so fundamental to those four basic human functions that it is impossible to get away from it.

I would like to suggest that technology will continue to advance, and cannot do that without talking about

's Law. When Intel co-founder Gordon Moore forecast this law in 1965 he did not believe that it would last much more than a few years.

However, it has indeed continued for more than 40 years, with memory density and computer power doubling roughly every 18-24 months. When I suggest that this will continue for a further 15 or 20 years, you can imagine the continued capability that we are bringing forth.

The structures we are making today are substantially smaller than viruses. Just think — considering that, 20 years hence, there will have been 10 doublings between now and then — the electronic functionality that you could expect in about 2025. We are talking about devices that you cannot even imagine today, much as you could not have imagined current devices 20 years ago.