Ray Kurzweil’s Mind-Boggling Predictions for the Next 25 Years
In my new book BOLD, one of the interviews that I’m most excited about is with my good friend Ray Kurzweil. Bill Gates calls Ray, “the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence.” Ray is also amazing at predicting a lot more beyond just AI. This post looks at his very incredible predictions for the next 20+ years. Ray Kurzweil.
Limits to Growth was right. New research shows we're nearing collapse
The 1972 book Limits to Growth, which predicted our civilisation would probably collapse some time this century, has been criticised as doomsday fantasy since it was published. Back in 2002, self-styled environmental expert Bjorn Lomborg consigned it to the “dustbin of history”. It doesn’t belong there. Research from the University of Melbourne has found the book’s forecasts are accurate, 40 years on. If we continue to track in line with the book’s scenario, expect the early stages of global collapse to start appearing soon.
These 2015 Trends Will Impact All Businesses, According To Ford
The influence of Gen Z is on the rise, consumers are interested in traveling lighter, and the definition of family is expanding. These are some of the findings in the Looking Further with Ford 2015 trend report. "What we put in this book is what I call micro trends. You can also call them emerging trends," says Sheryl Connelly, the futurist at Ford Motor Co. (who was featured as one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2013).
Trend Reports
Masculinity was more clearly defined when “men were men,” as the phrase goes. Today, as gender conventions blur, men are formulating more nuanced ideas of what it means to be a man. The household in particular is becoming more gender-neutral as men both embrace a more active role and get pushed into it out of necessity. “The State of Men” examines shifts in male roles, behavior, attitudes and mindsets, focusing on how masculinity is being redefined circa 2013, how men’s role in the home is changing and how men are navigating the new gender order. The report is the result of quantitative, qualitative and desk research conducted by JWTIntelligence throughout the year.
The Acceleration of Acceleration: How The Future Is Arriving Far Faster Than Expected
The Acceleration of Acceleration: How The Future Is Arriving Far Faster Than Expected This article co-written with Ken Goffman. One of the things that happens when you write books about the future is you get to watch your predictions fail. This is nothing new, of course, but what’s different this time around is the direction of those failures.
Looking Ahead: The Best of 2015 Trends
January 2015: The only constant in the 21st century is change.Geopolitical turbulence and technological advances will be just some of the factors shaping the year ahead. Creating a point of view about ongoing and future trends is increasingly important to thrive in an ever more complex and competitive world. In 2011, when we typed Trends for 2011 into Google on January 1st 2011 it gave us around 46 million results. As we typed Trends for 2015 in January 1st 2015 it gave us 579 million results. The number and diversity of opinions about what’s in store for the forthcoming year is exploding – making it harder to sift the important from the irrelevant, and to develop that critical point of view. Looking ahead to the next year, and even further, here’s our annual round-up of where you can find some of the more interesting and useful trend forecasts and ideas for 2015.
Top Tech Trends for 2015
Cyber security, data analytics and private cloud are the top priorities for IT investment in 2015, according to a new survey of over 500 IT and business executives from around the globe. The survey, conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit for PwC, asked 503 executives which technologies they are currently investing in and how they plan to modify their investment in 2015. The key findings are as follows: Cyber security is the technology that most respondents already invest in (70%) and the one that most companies plan to spend more on during 2015 (51%).
How to Seize the Opportunities When Megatrends Collide
McDonald’s was one of the first Western companies to play an active role in the world’s emerging markets. It opened a franchise in Brazil in 1979, followed by Russia and China in 1990, and India in 1996. Knowing how tastes in food vary from one region to the next, the company carefully analyzed each locale and adapted its menus accordingly. For example, in Muslim countries its meals are certified halal (permissible under Islamic law); in India, the Golden Arches serve no beef or pork; and in Brazil, McDonald’s serves banana-flavored pies.
