Kevin Kelly

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Define Technology Broadly

  Finding ideas

  Technology is not just hardware; it is anything created by the human mind, including law, writing, and music.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source < The Gift of Stuff  (opens in a new tab)

• Distinguish Expected from Unexpected Tech

  Strategy

  Recognize that some innovations are 'over-expected' and carry historical baggage, while the most transformative ones often arrive completely unpredicted.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Science fiction stories gave us picture phones, and online encyclopedias, visual tablets, and world brains on a screen, but not the internet”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• The 1,000 True Fans Rule

  Strategy

  A creator only needs about 1,000 fans who pay $100 profit per year to earn a sustainable $100,000 annual income.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source 1,000 True Fans  (opens in a new tab)

• Focus on Conceptual Structure

  Product

  When a physical medium disappears, the value lies in the conceptual organization and the time-intensive experience it provides.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Without containment, a reader's attention tends to flow outward, wandering from the central narrative or argument. The velocity of shifting focus creates a centrifugal force which spins readers away from the pages of the book.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Infuse intelligence into the environment

  Product

  Increasing the 'free will' or choice-making ability of tools and objects accelerates technological development and utility.

  Supporting quotes

  • “In fact asking ourselves how humanity might make entirely new kinds of mistakes is probably the best metric we have for discovering new possibilities of choice and freedom.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Focus on specific manifestation

  Strategy

  Since core ideas are often inevitable and discovered by many, the competitive advantage lies in the unique expression and application of those ideas.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source < Progression of the Inevitable  (opens in a new tab)

• Innovation Is Environmentally Driven

  Finding ideas

  Specific inventions emerge when the surrounding environment and existing tools make them the most logical next step.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source < Progression of the Inevitable  (opens in a new tab)

• Use Data as Creative Input

  Technology

  Utilize underlying structures like DNA to generate both visual forms and soundtracks in creative projects.

  Supporting quotes

  • “The film represents an attempt to cross the divide between scientific visualisation of DNA and aesthetically pleasing art.”

• Simulate extreme conditions before launch

  Risk

  Testing a team in a confined, high-stress environment helps identify psychological and physical breaking points before a real mission begins.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source < Rehearsing for Mars in a Container  (opens in a new tab)

• Value Virtual Skill Transfer

  Technology

  Skills learned in high-fidelity simulations, like video games, can effectively transfer to real-world high-performance tasks.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source < Weekly Links, 08/27/2021  (opens in a new tab)

• Design for Seamless Continuity

  Product

  Information should flow effortlessly between different devices and environments, allowing a user to pick up exactly where they left off.

  Supporting quotes

  • “When I pay close attention, the news gets more detailed. As I screen further and deeper, the text has more links, denser illustrations.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Recognize Physical Limits of Intelligence

  Technology

  Intelligence is likely a finite physical attribute constrained by time, memory, and the physical substrate it runs on.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Myth of a Superhuman AI  (opens in a new tab)

• Respect Real-world Constraints

  Strategy

  Understand that simulations have limits and ground truth testing must happen in real time to be valid.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Myth of a Superhuman AI  (opens in a new tab)

• Construct Personal Certainty

  Decisions

  Since every expert has a countervailing anti-expert online, individuals must take responsibility for assembling their own reliability from unreliable parts.

  Supporting quotes

  • “I cherish a good wasting of time as a necessary precondition for creativity, but more importantly I believe the conflation of play and work, of thinking hard and thinking playfully, is one the greatest things the Internet has done.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Naming Creates Search Images

  Learning

  Assigning a name to a phenomenon allows a person to recognize it everywhere and access the collective knowledge surrounding it.

  Supporting quotes

  • “In the goodness of time, the web will embrace even the smallest thing we give our attention to. If chips of broken glass don't escape the web's gaze, what can?”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Niche Communities Scale Online

  Strategy

  The internet transforms private quirks into global subcategories, allowing even the smallest interests to form professional networks and markets.

  Supporting quotes

  • “In the goodness of time, the web will embrace even the smallest thing we give our attention to. If chips of broken glass don't escape the web's gaze, what can?”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Observe current trends to predict

  Strategy

  Predicting the future is often just a matter of looking at what is already happening and following it to its logical conclusion.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source < McLuhan at 100  (opens in a new tab)

• Seek Unique Possibility Spaces

  Creativity

  The most valuable reason to explore or network is to find unique inventions and thoughts that your own collective mind cannot reach.

  Supporting quotes

  • “I have some strongly-stated, loosely-held hunches about the probability of life elsewhere in the universe. My certainty about these beliefs is quite low, but it is much higher than my belief in the alternatives.”

    “There is no material, or energy source that cannot be synthesized at home if you have the know-how.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Recognize the Technological Ecology

  Strategy

  Understand that no product or service exists in isolation; it depends on a vast web of other technologies and systems to function.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source < Only One Machine  (opens in a new tab)

• Categorize AI by Relationship

  Technology

  Understand emerging technologies by comparing them to familiar non-human entities like pets, aliens, or deities.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source < Weekly Links, 11/12/2021  (opens in a new tab)