[Editor’s note: Because we just celebrated Thanksgiving and because today is a holiday for most people, I will keep this week’s newsletter short. I have also taken the liberty of changing my “thinks” to “thanks” this week. Here are five breakthroughs or innovations for which I am grateful.) Thanks #1: I am thankful for all…

Editor’s note: With Thanksgiving now less than a week away, I would like to take a moment and thank all of you for subscribing to this newsletter. I hope all of you have a Blessed Thanksgiving and an even better future. Jack U. P.S. My latest book, “A Smarter Farm: How Artificial Intelligence Will Revolutionize…

Think: Later today, I will be sitting down with Forbes to do an interview on  the topic of “The future of wealth.” My thinking on this subject may surprise you. My thoughts can be found in this piece on The Future of Wealth, but the gist of it is this: “Wealth” in the near future will…

Think Optimistically: Marc Andressen has written a long (5,000 words) but important article entitled The Techno-Optimist Manifesto. While I can’t say I agree with everything in the paper, I am in general agreement that there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future. I also agree that technology holds the biggest key to…

Think Fast: A new robot can now search for solar materials 14X faster. This is yet another reason solar power may continue to grow faster than many pundits in the energy industry expect. Think Faster: Researchers from Pohang University of Science & Technology have unveiled a groundbreaking technique to amplify the energy storage capacity of…

Think: Currently, two major labor strikes are taking place in the U.S.–autoworkers and Hollywood screenwriters (and actors). What do both strikes have in common? Answer: The workers are worried about technology’s impact on their wages and their livelihood. The Economist recently published an interesting opinion piece on AI’s future impact on jobs. The results were…

Think: If you want to think better–and, really, who doesn’t–read this article on the importance of handwriting. Even in the age of laptops, keyboards and voice recorders, I’ve long been an avid writer of handwritten notes. I scribble notes in the margins of books, jot things down by longhand at conferences, why I even still…

Think Optimistically: Over tens of thousands of years, the human brain has been trained to optimize around the notions of fear and scarcity. The reason for this is simple: The world our ancestors occupied was a scary place and it was hard to find food. I will be the first to admit that the world…

(Editor’s note: This week, my colleague, Jeff Appelquist, and I will be in Montana battling the heat and conducting our 3-day experiential leadership seminar, Into the Unknown: Exploring the Leadership Lessons of Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery. If you or your organization are interested in learning more about the program, please feel…

Think: Well, here we go. Researchers at CalTech have recently developed a robot that can crawl, walk, climb and fly. This article has a brief description of the technology along with an impressive video of the robot in action. My best guess is that among the first markets for the technology will be the police,…