“‘Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”–Douglas Adams
If Douglas Adams were still alive today, he might be pleased to find that little yellow sun getting more and more regard every year. Solar industry jobs grew at a rate 12 times faster than that of overall economy in 2016. Solar panel installer was the single fastest growing job description in the U.S. between 2012 and 2016. More respect for the sun, please.
Clean/ renewable energy– According to a report in Business Insider, findings by the Global Alliance of Solar Energy Research Institutes suggest that improved solar cell efficiency and cheaper storage batteries will allow solar to surpass traditional fossil fuel production in cost-effectiveness by 2020. Further, the report states that the entire electrical grid, as it now stands, may become obsolete by 2030 due to widespread localized production.
Biotech–A 24-year old doctoral student from Oxford University has created a prototype for an artificial retina. It is thought to potentially be an improvement over the artificial retina that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2013. It represents the first use of synthetic tissue and is seen as possibly revolutionizing the bionic implant industry.
Jeff Boeke, one of the lead scientists in the Human Genome Project-Write (GP-Write), thinks that human genes will be able to be created synthetically within 4-5 years. Boeke, who is director of the Institute for Systems Genetics at New York University, was speaking at a recent meeting of 250 genomics researchers and bioethicists in New York.
Flying Cars–Toyota has entered the race to build flying cars. They are backing a project called Skydrive, which is developing a vehicle that can fly at 100kph (62mph) at a height of 33 feet. They are hoping to commercialize it in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Robotics–If your worried about losing your job to a robot, consider the problem Japan has. Their shrinking workforce is forcing firms to replace workers with robots. So reports Daily Mail.com.
Augmented Reality (AR)–Cirque de Soleil has partnered with Microsoft to use its Hololens augmented reality device to visualize stage setups and choreography. The technology was unveiled onstage at the recent Microsoft Build developers conference.
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Um, OK. I’m guilty as charged, too, Brad Feld. In the 1960’s mixed marriages caused controversy. In the 2010’s it’s mixed technology. But make no mistake about it, whatever you use, the cloud is about to get a lot bigger–and higher. With the SpaceX announcement of its initiative to launch thousands of internet beaming micro satellites beginning in 2019, those unread emails are literally going to be orbiting the earth. That’s just the beginning, in The Future This Week.
In episode #11, futurist Ian Pearson spoke to his assertion that artificial intelligence will create jobs. One of the main reasons for this, he believes, will be the need to provide an emotional human interface between A.I. and its intended beneficiaries, be they patients, consumers, or business clients. But the field of affective computing is rapidly developing artificial intelligence that can read and respond to human emotion. They are systems with emotional intelligence. In episode #12, I talk with author Richard Yonck. His new book, Heart of the Machine, provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of development in emotional A.I., while providing cogent scenarios projecting where it might lead us in the future.
One of the hottest topics in foresight today is artificial intelligence. And while many of the most visible forward thinkers have been stressing over potential existential threats to all of humanity, there is a more mundane threat to all of us. That would be our world of work. As automation on the assembly line replaces more and more unskilled labor jobs, there lies the looming threat of artificial intelligence taking on skilled, professional jobs. Will A.I. kill your job? Create you a new one? Both? Neither? While the media is full of pessimism on this account, at least one prominent futurist is cautiously optimistic. Author, speaker and blogger Ian Pearson, of Futurizon thinks that, at least in the short term, A.I. will create more jobs than it kills. I talk to him about these views, as well as the longer range existential effects of A.I., in this week’s Seeking Delphi Podcast.
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