The cryptocurrency market, which trades various digital-based coins, can look exciting, scary, and mysterious all at once to the casual observer. Its pioneer, Bitcoin, dramatically surged in value and steeply dropped (before picking back up) in recent months. ICOs (initial coin offerings for new cryptocurrencies), meanwhile, are emerging at a head-spinning rate.
“In this far-ranging interview Da Vinci Institute associate Trent Fowler sits down with George Mason University economist and futurist Robin Hanson. They discuss Hanson’s two books (“The Age of Ems” and “The Elephant in the Brain”), the relationship between economics and futurism, the possibilities and dangers of self-improving AI, and many other things.
Continue reading… “Trent Fowler of the DaVinci Institute interviews futurist Robert Hanson”
Will teacherbots applied with artificial intelligence be doing our job one day? Will they do it better than us? Jude Barback takes stock of some of the recent thinking around the future of education.
Continue reading… “Should we make way for the teacherbots?”
Imagine a car with no steering wheel and no pedals, like the one General Motors says it will mass-produce by next year. The automaker made the announcement Jan. 12, creating a big splash just prior to the annual Detroit Auto Show.
Continue reading… “Autonomous vehicles to eliminate some jobs, create others”
Unique and powerful methods designed for investors, advisors, planners, and strategists.
To be an influential and effective leader, strategist, or investor, you first have to think like a futurist. The forces of technology-driven- change are sweeping across every industry, disrupting cities, businesses, products, and professions. Advisors, investors, planners, and strategists can no longer make decisions by projecting current trends forward.
Continue reading… “Strategic Futurism: Get ahead of the future”
On October 16-20, 2017 the DaVinci Institute will host its first ever Freelance Academy course as a kickoff for the world’s first Freelance Colony, a coworking community inside the Institutes Westminster headquarters.
A recent report by MBO Partners showed that 3.2 million freelancers are earning more than $100,000 annually. This is up 4.9% from 2016.
The Colony Workspace at DaVinci Institute is home to over 25 companies, and we currently have a few primo office suites available, some with spectacular views of the mountains.
Continue reading… “Trailblazing entrepreneurs and free agents wanted”
A new study published by the data science team at Hired, a jobs marketplace for tech workers, shows why it’s becoming harder for software engineers to afford life in San Francisco, even while they make more money than their peers elsewhere in the U.S. and the world.
Based on 280,000 interview requests and job offers provided by more than 5,000 companies to 45,000 job seekers on Hired’s platform, the company’s data team has determined that the average salary for a software engineer in the Bay Area is $134,000. That’s more than software engineers anywhere in the country, through Seattle trails closely behind, paying engineers an average of $126,000. In other tech hubs, including Boston, Austin, L.A., New York, and Washington, D.C., software engineers are paid on average between $110,000 and $120,000.
Yet higher salaries don’t mean much with jaw-dropping rents and other soaring expenses associated with life in “Silicon Valley,” and San Francisco more specifically. Indeed, factoring in the cost of living, San Francisco is now one of the lowest-paying cities for software engineers, according to Hired’s lead data scientist, Jessica Kirkpatrick. According to her analysis, the $110,000 that an Austin engineer makes is the rough equivalent of being paid $198,000 in the Bay Area, considering how much further each dollar goes in the sprawling capital of Texas. The same is true of Melbourne, Australia, where software engineers are paid a comparatively low $107,000 on average, but who are making the equivalent of $150,000 in San Francisco.
Continue reading… “What software engineers are making around the world right now”
A little over two years ago I mentioned a new anticipatory thinking tool I’ve developed called “situational futuring.” It helps me gain better insight into the world ahead. Until now I hadn’t given too many details about how it worked, but I recently decided to reveal the entire process and how to apply it.
While I’ve been very protective about the crazy brain games I use for developing predictions, this will give you a sneak peek into one of the secret tools I use for thinking about the future.
Continue reading… “Inside the Mind of a Futurist – April 10-14, 2017”
Thirty years ago, it was a big deal when schools got their first computers. Today, it’s a big deal when students get their own laptops. According to Futurist Thomas Frey, in 14 years it’ll be a big deal when students learn from robot teachers over the internet. It’s not just because the technology will be that sophisticated, Frey says, but because the company responsible for it will be the largest of its kind.
NOTE: Visit FuturistSpeaker.com to learn more about DaVinci Institute’s senior futurist Thomas Frey.
Arconic – The Road Ahead from WIRED Brand Lab on Vimeo.
“Until we get to that driverless era, we’ve got a slow-moving parking lot that’s working at a glacial speed in major cities literally all over the world,” says Futurist Thomas Frey, founder of thinktank DaVinci Institute.
Continue reading… “Understanding the Disruptive Impact of Tomorrow’s Transportation”
DaVinci Coders is excited to announce that the students in our upcoming JavaScript course will serve as the foundational team for competing in the recently announced IBM Watson AI X-Prize, a $5 million competition designed around using artificial intelligence to solve some of the world’s greatest problems.
“The IBM Watson AI X-Prize fits in perfectly with much of the research we’ve been doing, and we feel well positioned to compete on the world stage for this prestigious prize,” says Thomas Frey, Senior Futurist at the DaVinci Institute. “We’re already attracting some remarkably high caliber students and this seems like the perfect vehicle for leveraging their talents on a project that can benefit the entire world.”
Continue reading… “DaVinci Coders form Team to Compete for IBM Watson AI X-Prize”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.