AI, specifically “augmented intelligence,” is going to have both an awesome and an unfortunate impact on our posterity. Let’s explore one possible way AI may impact the future of work, and how it may dramatically change how we train our workforce.
The home of the future isn’t smart — It’s ‘Living’ and green
The varied universes of science fiction often offer inspiration for emerging technologies, or at least fitting leads for articles to describe them. Take the spaceship Moya from a sci-fi series called “Farscape,” which follows the adventures of a ragtag team of aliens very much in the spirit of “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Moya is a biomechanical ship, part of an alien race called Leviathans that’s been described as a cross between a stingray and a horseshoe crab. She comes equipped with her own version of the warp drive and repair drones, but is also capable of producing offspring, giving a whole new meaning to the term “mothership.”
This hybrid of biology and technology is a fantastical spin on real-world concepts that come with labels like organicism, biotecture, or living architecture. The basic idea of these theories is simple: Integrating biological systems into our living spaces, whether it’s the home, the office, or the first rocket carrying humans to Mars, is imperative for creating more sustainable and healthier environments.
“To develop a more sustainable relationship with the natural world, we need to allow chemical exchanges that take place within our living spaces, and between the inside and the outside,” wrote Dr. Rachel Armstrong, a professor of experimental architecture at Newcastle University who also holds a medical degree.
Continue reading… “The home of the future isn’t smart — It’s ‘Living’ and green”
3 reasons why brand storytelling is the future of marketing
When creating your marketing strategy, don’t forget about the bigger story: what makes you human?
In today’s fast-paced, overly-automated, and digitally-driven society, humanity is becoming the new premium. The internet constantly rewards us with convenience and instant gratification, making the human touch increasingly more scarce and coveted.
In this environment, businesses can no longer afford to be faceless entities. To survive, businesses need to connect with audiences, pull at their heartstrings, and engage with them on a much deeper level than seen before. That’s where brand storytelling comes in.
Brand storytelling is the cohesive narrative that weaves together the facts and emotions that your brand evokes. In addition to giving your customers reasons why they should buy a product or service, businesses need to start sharing the story behind their brand, why it exists, and why this matters, consistently across all communication.
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Bill Gates made these 15 predictions back in 1999 — and it’s scary how accurate he was
His forecasts turned out to be eerily prescient.
In 1999, Bill Gates wrote a book titled Business @ the Speed of Thought.
In the book, Gates made 15 bold predictions that at the time might have sounded outrageous.
But as Markus Kirjonen, a business student, once noted on his blog, Gates’ forecasts turned out to be eerily prescient.
Here are the 15 predictions Gates made just about 20 years ago — and how close they’ve come to being true.
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’?
Inclusive fashion is the future of runways and retail
Thin, white, young, stereotypically “feminine” or “masculine”—those are some of the characteristics that traditionally defined who the fashion industry prioritized.
That’s starting to change. Fashion is under mounting pressure to cater to all customers, as tech-empowered shoppers wield more influence over brands and new upstart labels, willing to serve the shoppers established brands have ignored, are rewarded. This isn’t a passing phase: By 2025, management-consulting firm Bain & Company predicts luxury shoppers will consider a brand’s values, such as inclusivity and diversity, just as much as the quality of the products it sells when deciding how to spend their money.
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The big deal about an AI model that can talk like you
Meryl Streep is pitch perfect as the narrator of the Norah Ephron novel Heartburn. In the audiobook version, Streep’s classic delivery brings alive the emotional turmoil as well as the self-deprecating wit of Rachel Samstat, who has just found out about her husband’s affair. In the Harry Potter audiobooks, it’s singer-actor Jim Dale who creates the magic.
Now let’s say you are discomforted by American and British accents. You prefer to hear Heartburn and the Potter books in voices you can relate with. You want to switch the genders of the narrators. You want the Muggles speaking in the voice of your favourite Bollywood actor. You want to be the narrator.
Those are real options a Bengaluru startup expects to offer as it develops an artificial intelligence model for cloning voices. It reckons there is massive business opportunity in impersonating voices, and not just from the growing popularity of audiobooks. Think voiceovers for ads, narrations for education-technology platforms, real-time translations, automated responses, voice assistants, smart speakers.
Continue reading… “The big deal about an AI model that can talk like you”
iRobot unveils Terra, a Roomba lawn mower
iRobot is best known for making vacuum cleaner robots: the infamous Roomba lineup. But the company also makes mopping robots (Braava lineup), pool cleaning robots (Mirra lineup), a bot to help clean gutters, and even programmable robots (Create lineup). So, what’s next for your home? A lawn mower robot.
Queue the “get off my lawn” jokes.
iRobot today introduced the Terra robot lawn mower, which features “state-of-the-art mapping and navigation technologies, high-performance, high-quality mowing, and easy installation.” It is arguably easier for a robot to mow a lawn than clean a house, but the company is still starting off cautiously — the iRobot Terra robot mower will be available for sale in Germany and as part of a beta program in the U.S. sometime later this year. iRobot said it would share more specific availability and pricing at a later date.
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Your digital identity has three layers, and you can only protect one of them
Your online profile is less a reflection of you than a caricature.
Whether you like it or not, commercial and public actors tend to trust the string of 1s and 0s that represent you more than the story you tell them. When filing a credit application at a bank or being recruited for a job, your social network, credit-card history, and postal address can be viewed as immutable facts more credible than your opinion.
But your online profile is not always built on facts. It is shaped by technology companies and advertisers who make key decisions based on their interpretation of seemingly benign data points: what movies you choose to watch, the time of day you tweet, or how long you take to click on a cat video.
Continue reading… “Your digital identity has three layers, and you can only protect one of them”
Boeing shows off their futuristic autonomous flying taxi!
Uber has been a boon for us (especially on Saturday nights in Mumbai), helping us reach places quickly, conveniently and economically. But, they created a problem, sort of. More cars on the roads mean increased traffic in major cities.
Well, Boeing is kind of working on this matter, to find a solution. Flying taxis! Not really innovational, we know. But, we may be closer to this becoming a reality than one would think, as they successfully completed their first test flight.
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China created a new tech unicorn every 3.8 days last year
The pace of billion-dollar startup creation slowed markedly in China in 2018’s final quarter as the country’s largest tech startups shored up their dominance and the economy decelerated.
China spawned 97 unicorns last year with a combined valuation of 1.2 trillion yuan ($178 billion) across sectors from consumer internet to online shopping and electric vehicles, according to a report published by consultancy Hurun. That’s about one unicorn born every 3.8 days. But of those, 11 were created in the December quarter, down from more than 30 in the previous three months.
Tech startup investment is slowing as stretched valuations and the economy takes a toll. Beijing, wary of financial risk, is cracking down on internet loan providers and the crypto-currency market is sputtering as prices deflate. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai warned last week that valuations were “distorted” and may decline over the coming six to nine months, particularly in over-heated arenas such as bike-sharing.
Continue reading… “China created a new tech unicorn every 3.8 days last year”
Dread selling yourself? This hot new freelance trend may be your answer
Jody Greenstone Miller, co-founder and CEO of Business Talent Group, has teamed up with global search firm Heidrick & Struggles to bring indie talent to big companies.
One of the biggest challenges for freelancers is winning new business. Even the most experienced pros often dread pitching new clients to win projects—a job that was often done by the sales or business development team in previous corporate careers.
Some of the most sought-after free agents may not have to hustle up work in the same way in the future. More big companies are looking for high-level freelancers the same way they find other talent: through headhunters.
In a new partnership that reflects the trend, Heidrick & Struggles, a Nasdaq-traded, global executive search firm, announced it is collaborating on an exclusive basis with Business Talent Group (BTG), a high-end marketplace for on-demand independent talent. Heidrick & Struggles will give its clients access to professionals in BTG’s network for project-based assignments.
Continue reading… “Dread selling yourself? This hot new freelance trend may be your answer”
