Aug
23
A convergence of emerging technologies and emerging possibilities lies at the heart of this, the greatest period of transformation in human history. Our world is changing in ways that are difficult to predict; sometimes even difficult to imagine. Accelerating technological change may soon alter our world beyond recognition…and maybe that’s a good thing. Join …
Aug
16
It is both exciting and daunting to live in an age in possessed of so much possibility as demonstrated by the wide array of topics discussed in this series. It’s exciting because our awareness of possibility is so much greater than it was even a generation or two ago. And it is daunting for exactly …
Aug
09
Throughout human history, material scarcity has been a constant driver of innovation and economic growth. Today the world knows material abundance far beyond what could have been imagined a few centuries ago, even while shortages, poverty and want remain a reality for many. But that may not always be the case. New technologies suggest that …
Aug
02
There are some who seriously ask whether the universe we live in is the real universe or merely a simulation of some kind — something like the virtual world depicted in the Matrix. series of films. There are others who suggest that, even if we aren’t living in a simulation now, it might just be …
Jul
27
A few years back, a computer won a chess match against the world’s most highly rated player. More recently, a computer beat a pair of highly skilled human competitors on the game show Jeopardy! IBM, the company responsible for building both of these remarkable machines, announced that Watson, the computer that won on Jeopardy!, is …
Jul
20
We can only imagine that, some 6 million years ago, when hominids began to stand upright, there was a tremendous controversy amongst the proto- australopithecines as to whether assuming this new posture was “natural.” Weren’t Lucy and her ilk simply violating their most basic nature? The debate has continued ever since, as humans have learned …
Jul
13
The World Transformed 2, Part 3 The digital age has fundamentally transformed humanity’s relationship with information. Through the advent of personal computer, Internet, smart phone, and social media technology, we have access to knowledge, to transactions, and to interpersonal communication that far transcends what was possible a few decades ago. The digitization of information has …