The digital transformation has begun to reshape traditional literary culture, as well as traditional intellectual culture. Three Americans were central to that process: Norbert Wiener, the celebrated founder of cybernetics, Stewart Brand, a leading hippie figure from the 70s, 
and more recently Tim O’Reilly, who brought us the terms “web 2.0” and “open source,” as well as a few other ways of looking at the world. How do they work as intellectuals? There are three steps for an intellectual entrepreneur to gain influence. First, a platform. Second, a network forum: a place where different networks can actually be brought together to talk to each other. Once they reunite, they begin to speak in a common language. That shared language gives rise to new terms like open source, or cybernetics. The leader can finally export those new languages from the network through books, articles, interviews.

Ed Catmull has been at the forefront of the digital revolution since its early days. The president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios began studying computer science at the University of Utah in 1965. In...

Following suit to the Guggenheim Museum, a number of Western cultural institutions have launched a series of spectacular offshoring operations, exporting their trademarks and their specific know-how. Playing somewhere between influence diplomacy and cultural marketing,...