As mentioned by Alan right at the beginning of his answer, the true visionary behind our current technological age was Licklider. He was an ARPA researcher who, it is argued [1], initially dreamt up the connected network we now know as the internet. Interestingly, when an early iteration of the 'net was put to UCLA academics, they refused to get involved!

[1] Sharon Weinberger, The Imagineers of War (2017).