Azeem Azhar, founder of Exponential View, joins Real Vision managing editor Ed Harrison to explain how the accelerating pace of technological progress is rapidly transforming business and life as we know it. Azhar identifies how technologies such as vaccines, renewable energy, and additive manufacturing (commonly known as “3D printing”) are advancing at a rate faster than previously thought possible. He and Harrison discuss the “winner-take-all” dynamics of technological process, and Azhar argues that the era of “diminishing returns” and economies of scale is over—there is no limit to how much market share a company can command, save for government regulation. Accordingly, Azhar thinks there could be some “pitchfork risk” of a populist backlash. He and Harrison discuss the implications of this as well as universal basic income, potential bubble signals, and crypto. Filmed on May 12, 2021.

Key learnings: For companies who can leverage ‘network effects,’ the addition of each customer is accretive to the value of every other customer. This effect can create a world in which companies can expand their operations with accelerating, rather than diminishing, returns.