Although in recent decades they have been characterized by the relocation of cheap labor markets, now manufacturing will return, although in factories that are largely run by algorithms. The underlying trend is the increase in the information content of the products and services that make up our economy and, increasingly, that information is managed by machines rather than human beings. That's the essence of digital business, and it's changing everything we thought we knew about creating value. Here are 3 keys to understanding the new era.1. Singularity is nearIn The Singularity Is Near, technological pioneer Ray Kurzweil argues that the concept of Moore's Law applies far beyond processing power. In his opinion, “essentially all technologies will become information technologies, including energy.” Therefore, all industries will once again enjoy the same exponential advance that computer chips have. Buy a box of cereal in Wal-Mart stores and you are not going to buy a mere assortment of grains packed in cardboard, but also the logistics and marketing that, increasingly, are managed by teams instead of human beings. In some cases, even the genetic algorithms that drive these processes are largely self-organizing, with minimal human intervention. The result, as the following graphic shows, is that technological cycles are significantly truncated:
