Yesterday, in this video, fellow business forecaster and futurist, Patrick Dixon, discussed why he thinks the future of the paper industry is bright for the foreseeable future. I’m not so optimistic and to understand why I’d invite you to watch the short video below which documents the impressive work researchers at Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab are doing in creating ”organic user interfaces.”

To be sure the technology is still not very sophisticated and, in general, people will be reluctant to change, but if one considers the success of Amazon’s Kindle and then extrapolates out (or “jumps the curve”) how organic user interface technology will only continue to improve in the near future, it is entirely possible that growing legions of people will soon turn away from reading the content of newspapers, magazines and books on paper and instead choose to use flexible electronic paper. This will be especially true if, as the video suggests, flexible electronic paper feels like paper and the user can even turn the page in a fashion similar to paper. 

Bottom-line: It is time for the paper industry to turn a new page and seriously consider how this technology will transform its business.