DaVinci Speaker Series : Disruptive Technology

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Many disruptive technologies are entering the current marketplace: autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, blockchain, 3D printing, etc. Each of these technologies is expected to obsolete and displace a large number of businesses with the associated job layoffs and supply chain interruptions. A question of concern is whether these disruptions by themselves or in combination with financial cycles, changes in government policies and cultural shifts can de-stabilize our economy or amplify economic fluctuations resulting in a ‘techno-apocalypse’?

Reskilling future workers: who’s responsible?

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Rapid technological change, with its impact on jobs, requires a constantly renewed workforce through retraining.

From switchboard operator to film projectionist, three industrial revolutions down and we’ve already seen many jobs wiped from the face of the Earth. Emerging technology is rapidly dispensing P45s, pink slips or termination letters to the next round of workers. More than half the global labour force will need to start reskilling and reinventing how they earn a living in the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum. Millions of roles will be lost, equally many more will be created.

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Turning to AI to save endangered languages

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Group of Yugambeh Aboriginal warriors dance.

As languages are becoming extinct at an alarming rate, speakers of endangered languages are turning to technology in a race against time to pass on their unique languages and cultures to the next generation.

The United Nations has declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages in an effort to promote awareness of the plight of languages that are in danger of disappearing. “Through language, people preserve their community’s history, customs and traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression. They also use it to construct their future. Language is pivotal in the areas of human rights protection, good governance, peace building, reconciliation, and sustainable development”: all core aspects of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Thanks to the benefits of artificial intelligence for language documentation and learning, AI is becoming more important than ever in the fight to save endangered languages.

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A billion aircraft: the future of drones

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If US futurist Thomas Frey is right, in only 12 years drones will be as ubiquitous as cars. Frey says there will be 1 billion drones in use around the world by 2030. What exotic new roles will these combinations of computing, robotics and aerodynamics play in society? Here are a few exciting new ways drones are currently redefining aviation and its purpose.

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What if AI can make us more human in the age of robotic automation?

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“We now live in a global, exponential world,” Steven Kotler tells my coauthor Michael Ashley and I from his Santa Monica office. We’re interviewing the New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur for our upcoming book: Uber Yourself Before You Get Kodaked: A Modern Primer on A.I. for the Modern Business. “You need to understand our brains evolved in a local, linear environment. We cannot process change at this speed or this scale; we’re bad at it. But in the 21st century, according to research done by Ray Kurzweil, we will experience over 20,000 years’ worth of change. To put it succinctly, over the next 80-something years we will go through the birth of agriculture to the industrial revolution — twice — in terms of our technological advancement.”

Much has been made of the fact that humans are poised to be replaced by artificial intelligence in the workplace, from home-care robots to robot waiters. However, what Kotler and his coauthor Peter Diamandis have asserted in such books as Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and the Impact the World, is that unprecedented technological abundance is also coming. Importantly, these thinkers suggest the future of prosperity depends not just on exponential technological innovation, but also on exponential creativity.

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Every disaster has a beginning: In search of Anomaly Zero

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In 2012, when 15-year old Jack Andraka’s uncle died of pancreatic cancer, he decided to look into it. He found that the current test for pancreatic cancer was over 60 years old, cost over $800, and wasn’t very reliable.

For this reason over 85% of pancreatic cancer cases were detected too late, when the chances of survival were only 2%.

As a bright and inspired young mind, Jack was able to devise a far better testing procedure, which he took to the researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

The result is a new dipstick-type diagnostic test that uses a paper sensor, similar to that of the diabetic test strip. This strip tests for cancer biomarkers in blood or urine, is over 90% accurate and only costs 3 cents per test.

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Countdown to the singularity

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I asked the smartest people I know for their tech predictions for the next 20 years (2018 – 2038). What are the breakthroughs we can expect on our countdown to the Singularity?

I compiled 50 predictions in a document distributed to my Abundance 360 and Abundance Digital communities. If you’d like a copy of all 50 predictions, you can download them here. For fun, and context, here’s a dozen of those predictions.

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Kids will build ’emotional bonds’ with robots and ignore their parents, futurologist predicts

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Children will soon have their own ‘cute’ artificial intelligence-equipped robot toys and will pay more attention to the machines’ advice than guidance issued by their parents.

That’s the warning from futurologist Ian Pearson, who was speaking at an event by the tech firm Beko held at the IFA 2018 conference in Berlin. He said robots would be commonplace in our homes within the next 15 years. But parents will be concerned to hear that he believes they will have a greater influence on ‘educating and training’ children than their own parents.

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Humanity confronts a defining question: How will AI change us?

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What will happen when we’ve built machines as intelligent as us? According to the experts this incredible feat will be achieved in the year 2062 – a mere 44 years away – which certainly begs the question: what will the world, our jobs, the economy, politics, war, and everyday life and death, look like then?

Fortunately, Toby Walsh, Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at UNSW has done the research for us.

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Here’s how higher education dies

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A futurist says the industry may have nowhere to go but down. What does the slide look like?

Maybe higher education has reached its peak. Not the Harvards and Yales of the world, but the institutions that make up the rest of the industry—the regional public schools who saw decades of growth and are now facing major budget cuts and the smaller, less-selective private colleges that have exorbitant sticker prices while the number of students enrolling in them declines.

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7 emerging tech jobs that are going to pay well in 2019

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Tech jobs are exploding – as well as the pay that goes with them. In fact, technology can really advance your career in ways we never thought possible. Now is the time to begin positioning yourself for a career in this field as the salaries seem to increase monthly. But what are the best emerging tech jobs; the ones set to pay the most in 2019? There is a wide variety, and we’ve listed the best below.

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.