Arrival of human level automated systems marks a transformative time in history.
Nearly half of U.S. jobs could be at risk of computerization over the next two decades, according to a new study from the Oxford Martin Program on the Impacts of Future Technology. This does not necessarily need to be bad news, says futurist Thomas Frey in a recent Futurist Magazine essay.
Futurist Thomas Frey: Last week I got into a discussion with a friend about the concept of self-contained water. If you think in terms of picking up a bottle of water, only without the bottle, you get the picture.
Futurist Thomas Frey: A few weeks ago, Stephen Hawking opened the world’s eyes to the dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI), warning that it has the potential of outsmarting humans in the financial markets. But few people realize that we are already in imminent danger of this happening.
Fast forward to 2024. Robots have not completely taken over but they and automation have definitely changed the landscape of work. This isn’t meant to be a crystal ball into our future world but rather an attempt to extend what we already see happening in work and the movement of these practices from the fringes of ‘innovative workplaces’ to the mainstream. Being a worker in this future world might look something like this…
The Greater Victoria Public Library allows patrons to check out passes to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and the Royal B.C. Museum.
The dawn of the Internet spawned predictions of the demise of libraries, made irrelevant by technology that puts infinite amounts of information at almost everyone’s fingertips.
Futurist Thomas Frey: Imagine stepping out of the shower in the morning, and rather than reaching for a towel, a swarm of thousands of flying drones will surround you and begin to dry you off.
Futurist Thomas Frey: A couple weeks ago I turned 60. I remember how old 60 was when I was a kid, and now I’m here.
As a person who spends a lot of time asking “what if” questions, constantly thinking about extreme possibilities, the notion of 3D printing a replacement body for myself became very intriguing.
I remember seeing science fiction movies where cloned bodies were grown over long periods of time, and more recent ones with accelerated cloning technology, but the 3D printing of replacement bodies is a faster option, just now coming into view.
Bioprinting is the process of using 3D printers to form human tissue. This process that has already been used to print replacement kidneys, bladders, livers, skin, bones, teeth, noses, and ears, as well as prosthetic arms and legs. This is a list that didn’t even exist 5 years ago, but is now growing on a regular basis.
Futurist Thomas Frey: Some of us get bitten by the genealogical bug early in life, others a bit later. But there are few of us who haven’t been haunted by the question – where did I come from?
Futurist Thomas Frey: Earth’s appetite for power continues to grow. Since the 1960s, power consumption has quadrupled around the globe, with many countries opting to build large oil and coal plants to meet the demand.
Moment by moment, our lives are changing. Much like a strobe light with flashes of memories jumping through our minds we randomly recall where we’ve been.