Making things will be a local, not a global enterprise. Faced with such grand claims, some scepticism may be in order, as shown by our cover art, where Tom Gauld seems to question whether we have the imagination to take advantage of the looming possibilities.
Roger Highfield, author of our cover story, was writing back in the 1990s that the internet would destroy media businesses. Only with the arrival some years later of two magic ingredients – broadband and high-speed mobile – did the disruptive promise of the internet come good. Dr Highfield believes we are at the same stage with new manufacturing technologies, with only the timescale in doubt.
