Business Forecaster and Futurist Jack Uldrich on Future Trends
Earlier this month, I delivered a talk to the Indianapolis chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. It was filmed by WFYI, Indiana's public television station.
In the Near Future, Time Will "Self-Heal" Many Small Problems
In 2003, I authored a book on nanotechnology, The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. In it, I speculated that self-healing materials would soon become commonplace and, to be honest, I was a overly optimistic in the timing of my projections. Nevertheless, LG has just released [...]
Exporting Expertise: The Future of Surgery?
Surgeons at the University of Alabama recently performed one of the first surgeries using a virtual augmented reality technology from VIPAAR in conjunction with Google Glass. The video below offers a quick overview of the technologies. I particular like the do-dietary-supplements-work.com from one surgeon who said, the technologies allow us to "export expertise." UAB does [...]
Watson Accelerates the Future of Health Care
Only two years after appearing on the game show Jeopardy! IBM's Watson supercomputer is making startling progress in advancing the future of health care. In the past week, three new Watson-related "cognitive" technologies have been unveiled.(Two at the Cleveland Clinic and one at The Anderson Cancer Center in Dallas.) "WatsonPaths" incorporates feedback from the physician [...]
Is FitBit the "Pager" of the Future?
I really enjoy my FitBit but as I continue to watch the progress being made in the field of wearable computing, I can't help but think the FitBit (and FuelBand) will soon become this generation's equivalent of the pager--simple, elegant and practical devices doomed to be replaced by ever more elegant, multi-functional wearable devices. Your [...]
The Future is Here: No Bullshit!
I don't know how this news escaped me but earlier this year IBM's super-powerful computer taught itself how to swear after consuming the Urban Dictionary on slang. (In response to one query, Watson apparently replied, "That's bullshit!".) The computer's human overseers have since deleted a variety of salty words from Watson's vocabulary but, from my [...]
Is the Printing Press of the Future Being Created in Rwanda?
“Today's technologies have created the biggest change in education since the invention of the printing press.” -- Anant Agarwal, President of EdX Is it really possible that today's technologies--smartphones, high-speed Internet and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)--have created "the biggest change in education since the invention of the printing press"? Yes. But, first, some perspective [...]
5 Trends Affecting the Future of Higher Education
1. Online Education/MOOCs. This trend shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone following the field but did you know that Georgia Tech--in partnership with Udacity--is now offering a master's degree in computer science for the low, low price of $7,000? Furthermore, two innovative professors at the University of Texas are now offering students the opportunity [...]
Does Elon Musk Literally Have His Hand on the Future of Manufacturing?
The word literally is often misused but I don't believe I'm engaged in hyperbole when I say Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, may literally have his hand on the future of manufacturing--and I don't believe you will either after watching these two videos. The first shows Musk demonstrating how new Leap Motion [...]
39 Things That Should Keep Up Every Utility Executive At Night
From the outside, the utility industry may appear to slow, cumbersome and resistant to change. These characterizations may or may not be fair, but I do know the industry is poised for extraordinary change in the years ahead and that what has served the industry well in the past won’t be sufficient for remaining competitive [...]