Democratization of technology holds the promise of creating a better world in the coming year and beyond.

In my position on the Strategic Innovation Team at the 3D design company Autodesk, I’ve been fortunate to closely observe the democratization of design and manufacturing tools and some of the amazing applications our customers have imagined, designed and created. Whether or not Moon Express is ultimately successful, the concept of a small Silicon Valley startup literally reaching for the moon was inconceivable fewer than 50 years ago, when man’s first step on the moon was a national endeavor requiring a decade of advanced research and a hundred billion dollars of superpower funding. Witness Moon Express, a small company of about 50 people under contract with NASA to execute a soft landing on the moon by the end of 2015 in competition for Google’s Lunar X Prize. The increasing ease of use and lowering of prices for advanced design and manufacturing tools bring feats hitherto relegated to the realm of superpowers into the grasp of individuals and small groups. Perhaps not everyone will use the actual word democratization, but democratization - “making something available for all people” - is a trend that will only grow in 2015 and beyond. While Merriam-Webster tells us that “culture” was the most popular word of 2014, I predict that “democratization” will become ubiquitous in 2015.

Autodesk memento cost