Space Tango unveil their autonomous, robotic space based manufacturing platform
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The benefits of manufacturing products in space are clear, but it’s still complex and expensive, this technology could help make space based manufacturing a commercial reality. Over the past year or so I’ve been seeing more and more references made to not just space...
Futurist Keynote, Germany: Life in 2030, RWE
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A lot has changed in the last ten years, and even more will change in the next ten. Are you ready? Firstly, a big thank you to Kathrin and the team for inviting me to be the keynote at this years RWE Leadership meeting...
The UK FCA could become the world’s first AI robo-regulator
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The level of regulation is already a major burden on companies, a robo-regulator could automate compliance, lighten the load, reduce costs, and even identify crime before it happens. A little while ago I wrote an article highlighting a point made by the UK’s Chancellor...
Lexus turns to IBM to create the world’s first AI scripted advert
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In time all adverts, and the majority of content, will be created by AI, and people won’t be able to tell it from the “real” thing. Over the past eighteen months or so I’ve been discussing how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been becoming increasingly...
China debuts the world’s first AI news anchor
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As it gets easier to create high quality, natural sounding “human-like” avatars we’ll see more emerge and take on new and varied roles. Over the past couple of years there’s been a huge increase in the amount of press columns devoted to the topic...
Futurist in the press: Maximising the AI Opportunity, Microsoft
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF AI will help organisations and society at large unlock untold new opportunities, in this report Microsoft discusses how to maximise the upsides while minimising the downsides. Firstly, thank you to the team at Microsoft for reaching out and asking me to participate in their...
PWC program prepares employees for the next generation of jobs
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The world is changing faster than ever before, leading to a shortage of talent, meaning companies are being forced to find new ways to adapt and overcome skills shortages. Everyone by now understands that the workplace, and the workforce is changing as a result...
World’s first AI government policy maker gives China a diplomatic advantage
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF AI will play an increasingly central role in both government policy making and governing as China rolls out their first AI policy maker. If you’re a foreign policy maker with a government then, whether you like it or not, you’ll soon be working with...
Canada ends its three year Universal Basic Income trial two years early
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Governments fear the fall out from the mass automation of jobs by AI will be extreme so they’re investigating new welfare systems to limit the damage, but solutions are illusive. 4,000 people in Ontario, Canada just lost their Universal Basic Income (UBI) cash and...
Ocado shows off the world’s most advanced automated warehouse
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As technology and robotics get better it won’t be long before all warehouses are completely automated. They call it “The Hive,” or “The Grid.” Or sometimes just: “The machine.” It’s a huge structure that fills a warehouse on the outskirts of Andover, a small...
OpenAI’s robot hand handles objects with human-like dexterity
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Robots struggle with tasks that involve dexterity, but that problem could soon be solved. Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances are increasingly making headlines as we witness breakthrough after breakthrough, whether it’s in the creation of self-driving cars, or in the creation of the world’s first...
AI recruiters are using advanced surveillance like tech to interview job seekers
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The same technologies that are helping us catch and profile criminals, or surveil civilians at scale, AI, biometrics, machine vision and so on, are also helping companies find, interview, analyse and categorise job seekers faster and more effectively than ever. Companies, like RBS and...
EU law makers are thinking of letting people sue robots
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As automation, in the form of autonomous hardware and software based robots, becomes more commonplace, law makers are debating who should be responsible for their actions. If a robot, acting autonomously, injures or otherwise wrongs a human, who will be held responsible? Some European...
Slow human co-workers get Flippy the burger flipping robot fired
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the world continues to embrace automation one of the biggest problems could be figuring out the best way for robots and humans to work together. After debuting to much fanfare last year Flippy the burger flipping robot, made by Miso Robotics, who was...
Futurist keynote, Milton Keynes: The Future of Communities, Castleton European Summit
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The future will have a huge impact on the future of communities, both good and bad, but with proper foresight and planning tomorrow’s communities could be brighter and better for everyone. Firstly, I’d like to thank Jay and Chantel for inviting me to present...
Vertical farms edge closer to disrupting traditional agriculture
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today’s modern agricultural practises favour countries with fertile land and the food they produce has a dramatic impact on the environment, but tomorrows farms could be stationed in deserts, or at sea, right next to their consumers, producing high quality, organic food at knock down...
Las Vegas goes high tech with cocktail mixing robots
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The resent resurgence in interest in the field of robotics means we are now seeing more robots appearing in more places taking on more tasks. Las Vegas who recently met its goal to be 100 percent powered by renewable energy is full of dazzling...
JPMorgan is automating the world of finance
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The world of finance is being automated faster than almost any other industry and JPMorgan is leading the charge. At JPMorgan Chase a learning machine is parsing financial deals that once kept legal teams busy for thousands of hours. The program, called COIN, for...
US DoE wants to use AI to build world’s first autonomous energy grid
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to fully automate the American energy grid could reduce regulatory burden, improve resilience and reliability, and make it more efficient. The US Department of Energy, whose supercomputers are already building their own AI’s, has announced it will explore a first of a...
AI drones will soon be controlling autonomous vehicles on building sites
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Automation is a fact of life within every industry now, but as technology advances more tasks will be able to be automated, and in the construction industry this is one of the first, major steps to full automation. Some mining operations are already 100...
