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For thousands of years after writing was invented, most people remained illiterate. Universal literacy seemed unlikely. Is it really possible that every human would be capable of reading and writing? How would literacy benefit the average person? As we now know, every human is capable of and benefits immensely from literacy.

More recently, around 1976, just 0.2% of the world’s population used computers. Two tiny companies sought to make computing universal: Apple’s vision then was to create a “bicycle for the mind” in the form of a computer, and Microsoft wanted to put a computer “on every desk and in every home”. Though it seemed unlikely at the time, as we now know, everyone is capable of and benefits immensely from having a computer (or a phone).

Today, only about 0.1% of the world’s population can code. That tiny group has built software that runs the modern world and improves the lives of billions of people. Think of the possibilities if everyone was able to code. All around the world, more people would be able to solve problems and improve their lives by building software. We don’t know exactly what these billions of coders will create, but we know that this will bring faster and more broadly beneficial technological progress.