Genome of Technology

In his tracking innovation keynote Sean Gourley talks about the research that is going into mapping out technology space and how biology is influencing the way in which people can track the development of trends and technology.

Gourley's background is in the use of mathematics in order to understand war. Like war, technology both defines the world we live in and is not as understood as people think it is. Sean Gourley wanted to create a map that would allow people to understand the world's technology and how people are creating new forms of technology.

Generally when classifying such research groups they are put into "buckets," general categories that defines what they do. However, in regards to innovation the bulk of new developments occurs in between the buckets, from the groups that are not yet labelled. By taking the research of DNA and applying it to technology, Gourd discovered that people can trace what is called a technology genome. Through this people can extract the things that make a company unique and compare it to other companies, creating a map of technology space.