Futurist Lucie Greene has made a dazzling career out of understanding and predicting global consumer behaviours. As the Worldwide Director of the Innovation Group, J. Walter Thompson’s in-house futures and innovation think tank, Greene is the person who interprets how everything from technological innovations to contentious elections and geopolitical events will impact and potentially reshape our lives. In her new book Silicon States: The Power and Politics of Big Tech and What It Means for Our Future, she explores the role of Big Tech—that’s Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook—and what their increasing power means in the current moment of political dissatisfaction. In this exclusive excerpt, she shares why she is still hopeful about the future, despite her words of warning about the power of largely unregulated Big Tech. Hint: Generation Z – the most politically engaged and conscientious generation to emerge in decades – a generation who will soon be able to wield their soulful personal politics with their electoral votes.

Image credit: Author Lucie Greene / Jason Leiva