The Future According to Eric Schmidt

On stage at Cannes Lions, Eric Schmidt seemed like the kind of man—perhaps the only man, other than Steve Jobs—who could effortlessly convince an international crowd of 20- and 30-somethings to join a suicide cult and ascend with him to the heavens.

Google’s executive chairman has that wealthy California brand of optimism that is as infectious as it is understated. He describes the future of human existence in the same calm way chef Thomas Keller might describe his roast chicken. Yes, it will change your life. But it’s only chicken. What does Schmidt’s future look like? “So I'm in Cannes and I want to buy a T-shirt,” he said. “My phone should be saying, ‘You can turn left here and go get 30 percent off your favorite brand.’ Then I go to the store and pay for it on my handset.” In other words, your phone will know what you want and it will allow you to pay for it without a credit card. “The best thing would be if Google knew what you wanted without you having to type it in,” Schmidt said. “With your permission, with a mobile phone we can trigger search queries about where you are.” But it gets better: In roughly a year, according to Schmidt, a third of all checkout stands in restaurants and retail stores will allow you to “tap and pay” with your mobile phone. “How big a market is that? We're talking trillions of dollars,” he said.