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”
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.
Many people are scared of the future. With every science fiction movie that portrays technology as evil, and let’s be honest, that’s the theme of almost every science fiction movie that’s ever existed, it’s easy to develop some paranoia about the dangers ahead.
However, much of today’s technology is giving us super-human abilities. The same technology that gets blamed for eliminating our jobs, is also giving us capabilities beyond our wildest dreams. We have instant access to friends and family, instant access to answers for almost any question we ask, and instant entertainment if ever we get bored.
Here are some future jobs predicted by four futurists – Graeme Codrington, Joe Tankersly, Thomas Frey, and Jim Carroll.
Continue reading… “Four futurists weigh in on the jobs of the future”
Greg Whitby: I had the pleasure of speaking at the 2017 Edutech conference in Sydney recently. The conference is a ‘finger on the pulse’ on what is happening in schooling and the trends that are shaping the educational landscape.
Interesting isn’t it that we live at a time where we have moved on from talking about trends and data to ‘mega-trends’ and ‘big-data’. Connectivity, scaleability and mobility have been massive game-changers in that we no longer see business dictating trends. Instead we have technology delivering greater power to clients, customers and learners.
Continue reading… “What do mega-trends mean for schooling?”
Growing up, computers were mainly tools for automating secretarial tasks, not for professional work. Economist Robert Solow observed around that time, “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.”
But in the late 1990’s information technology became truly transformative. Combined with the commercial Internet and email, they became conduits to a continuous flow of information that could be processed, analyzed and turned into action. It’s likely that we’re in the early days of a similar productivity boom today, as connectivity begins to transform physical machines.
Continue reading… “How the Internet of Things is transforming industries you never imagined”
As we start to 3D-print everything — including houses, of all things — it’s pretty impressive that a company built one in just 24 hours.
Located in Russia, this 400-square-foot home (37 square meters) was built in just a day, at a cost of just over $10,000.
Continue reading… “First 3D printed house in Russia for $10,000”
On January 10, 2017, my new book, “Epiphany Z – Eight Radical Visions for Transforming Your Future“ was officially released in bookstores all around the world. Here are a few excerpts from the book where I discuss the concept of “future self.”
Being a Futurist is far more than just making predictions. It involves digging deep into the nature of humanity to better understand who we are and why we do the things that we do.
So what kind of relationship do you have with your future self?
Futurist Thomas Frey: We’re standing on the brink of an A.I. technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another.
Several early use cases for A.I. have begun to open our eyes as to how it will be used, but none quite as strikingly as when Google’s DeepMind was used to play the Atari game – Breakout.
Continue reading… “Your next teacher could be a teacherbot”
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”
Futurist Thomas Frey: I often wake up in the middle of the night with a big idea, something I’ve dubbed the grand epiphany. But as it turns out, very few actually fit into the “grand” category.
Whenever they do, big ideas carries with them a heavy responsibility, the responsibility of either moving them forward or allowing them to die in the silent echo chambers of our own grey matter.
For this reason, I’ve often equated my eureka moments to that of being tortured by my own ideas. Yes, grand ideas are a wonderful playground where you can dream about starting a new company, solving some of the world’s biggest problems, and constructing visions of wealth and influence, all in the time it takes most people to get ready for work.
Continue reading… “The Perfection Quandary”
Futurist Thomas Frey: It was rather anticlimactic when it finally happened, but the front door simply failed to open.
Continue reading… “The Day the Banking Industry Died”
Futurist Thomas Frey: When my oldest son Darby was 8 years old, he looked at his 3-year old sister, Shandra, and pointedly said, “She’s worthless! She couldn’t save anyone!”
Continue reading… “Our Emerging Superhero Culture”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.