In the 1960s Roy Amara, a Stanford computer scientist, observed that “we tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run”.
The progress of 3D printing might be a case in point. Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing is a fast-evolving technology with the, as yet, unrealised potential to decentralise production. It could provide the answer to the world’s addiction to supply chains — by getting rid of them.
For now 3D printing is useful for toy models and prototyping but has not reached mass adoption.
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