Category Archives: Futurist

In Brief Paramount Pictures pushes movie-making technology forward in the film industry by naming Ted Schilowitz as their 'Futurist in Residence'

Ted Schilowitz, a well-known futurist and innovator, has joined the ranks at Paramount Pictures. Previously, Schilowitz worked as a consulting futurist for 20th Century Fox. He has helped the film industry to progress technologically and has contributed to shaping the vision for the future of film.

About the move to Paramount, Schilowitz said:

From immersive cinema to augmented reality and beyond, Im excited to work with the Paramount and Viacom teams to discover and implement the latest technological advancements and create strategies that will enhance the audiences experiences across Paramounts movie, television, and interactive content.

As movies like Avatar and The Matrix have marked technological advancements in movie-making, it seems like were on the verge of the next tech revolution in film. With continuing AI developments, new, futuristic robotics, and other such progress, movies are bound to change. And without guidance from an expert, major companies like Paramount might not be equipped to make the transition into this film future. As Paramount pointed out in their press release, theirfocus on weaving augmented and virtual reality into their films wouldnt be possible without the guidance of someone like Schilowitz.

No doubt with the support of such experts, movies of the future will be even more technologically savvy and spectacular. While advancements like smell-o-rama and 3D wowed audiences in the past, theres no telling what awe-inspiring entertainment lies ahead for us on the big screen.

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Paramount Pictures Just Hired a Futurist in Residence to Guide the Future of Film - Futurism

Serial tech entrepreneur James P. Clark shares an unsettling vision of the future in a new textbook, Surviving the Machine Age.

I am concerned for my two young daughters (age 16 and 20 at the time of this writing). Their formal education is preparing them for a world that will not exist in 5 years, let alone 10. And how do I look them in the eye and encourage their career dreams while thinking that most jobs that are done by humans today soon wont require them anymore.

The textbook, edited by professor Kevin LaGrandeur of the New York Institute of Technology and James J. Hughes, executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, features essays on accelerating societal disruption as A.I. replaces human jobs by the billions.

Clark, the chairman of the World Technology Network, warns that disruptive innovation has always had a dark side, often causing widespread job loss and political backlash; and that now change is happening faster than ever and with a chance that jobs wont bounce back as they did in the past.

We now live in an era where, due to the very nature of exponential technological change, there is simply no time for inter-generational scale preparation. In fact, a 4-year college degree is almost certainly out of date by the time a student graduates.

Whats more, disruptive innovation is happening at an unrelentingly continual rate and in almost every industry at once in a globalized job market [with nowhere] to escape the pace of technological change, nowhere to hide from it.

Clark argues that mankind is approaching a phase change, with a bigger shift coming in the next 2030 years than in the past 2,0003,000.

We are gaining elemental control over the building blocks of life. We are on the verge of full control over matter with the power to make anything out of anything, anytime, anywhere . [and] although [A.I.] may be down the road a bit as the ultimate game change, the advent of full machine sentience is not necessary for enormous transformation of our civilization.

Whats at risk is massive job loss, political backlash (Clark points to the election of Donald Trump as an example), rising inequality, and, in short, dystopia for billions of people, if not everyone. Thats not to say apocalypse is inevitable.

The reader may find my perspective not particularly optimistic. I like to think of myself and others as simply being conscientious in the face of a massive potential challenge to human civilization.

What can we do? Other than considering risks soberly on a global scale, Clark recommends one specific policy: universal basic income, an idea also shared by Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.

Eliminating much of the complex social welfare system and replacing the social safety net (through which many have fallen) with a social safety floor with minimal, sufficient financial support to all, regardless of their current circumstances, may be the only way to avoid a social collapse. Also, it may lead to an unprecedented social flowering as the age-old condition of economic anxiety is removed.

Other options, Clark mentions, include micro-taxes on some kinds of digital transactions that use open source code and reducing working hours to spread jobs among people [as well as] seeking to use new technologies to create new types of job opportunities and job markets.

In any case, and whatever the strategy, in the face of growing income inequality, new and bold thinking is required.

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Futurist: 'I Am Concerned for My Two Young Daughters' - Inverse

Ted Schilowitz, an expert in emerging technologies, has been named the first-ever Futurist in Residence at Paramount Pictures and will jointly report to Chairman/CEO Jim Gianopulos and COO Andrew Gumpert. What is a futurist in residence? He is someone who works with technology teams and Schilowitz will do just that with both Viacom and Paramount to explore all the latest efforts in tech with anemphasis on virtual reality/augmented reality.

Paramount Pictures

While he will work with both film and TV divisions, Schilowitz willcontinue his role as Chief Creative officer at Barco Escape where hes been spearheading the creative aspects adding immersive right andleft screens to movie theaters. His company worked on Paramounts Star Trek: Beyond and 20th Century Foxs The Maze Runner films.

Prior to joining Paramount, Schilowitz was a consulting Futurist at 20th Century Fox, where he worked on the evolving art and science of advanced motion picture creation and created strategy on future technology and vision of cinema for the next generation of movie entertainment.

Ted has been an integral part of the film industrys innovation into next generation visual storytelling. He has been a pioneer throughout the industrys constant technological evolution and can identify what is and what will be relevant and important to movie-goers. He will be an incredible asset to the Paramount team, the top execs said in a joint statement.

He was also a founding member and an integral part of the product development team at RED Digital Cinema, ultra-high resolution digital movie cameras which have become standard in filming many of the worlds biggest movies. Schilowitz is one of the founders and creators of the G-Tech product line of advanced hard drive storage products that are implemented worldwide for professional Television and Multimedia content creation.

Prior to RED Digital Cinema and G-Tech, he was on the team that developed and launched the Macintosh products desktop video division of AJA Video Systems that created the groundbreaking Kona Cards and IO boxes in tandem with Apple.

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Ted Schilowitz Named First 'Futurist In Residence At Paramount Pictures - Deadline

Calling all L&D and corporate training professionals! Do not miss Asias premier conference on learning, training and corporate development strategy, Training & Development Asia. In Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Philippines and Singapore in July/August 2017 Register Now.

Many employers have recognised the importance of employee wellbeing and work-life balance as key strategies to improving employee engagement, loyalty and retention.

Employers are increasingly searching for innovative offerings to address their employees demands; and employees are asking more and more for choice and benefit programmes that meet their personal and family needs.

One such new and exciting offering to the region is vision care. According to Euromonitors 2016 Eye Health Indicator Analysis, Hong Kong has the highest rate of nearsightedness difficulty seeing far away in Asia, impacting 76% of the population or 5.6 million people.

While having an ancillary vision offer is quite common in other parts of the world, it has recently become available locally as a low-cost, highly valuable option employers can add to their benefit suite.

A vision scheme provides access to annual comprehensive eye examinations and fashionable eye wear at little to no out-of-pocket costs for your employees.

With a comprehensive eye exam, you get more than just a standard vision test, you also get a thorough check of your eye health. Through a comprehensive eye examination, a registered optometrist can check for signs of chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

A vision scheme can also help address issues that impact employees quality of life and productivity. According to a 2008 report by US-based vision advocacy group, The Vision Council, poor vision results in 32 times more productivity lost than absenteeism.

Digital eye strain is an example of a condition that impacts your staff. Per the Vision Council, more than 87% of adults report using digital devices more than two hours a day, yet many people neglect to care for their eyes, which can have unintended health consequences and impact work productivity.

Vision care schemes can play a major role in employee benefit programmes. Although many companies offer an annual health screening programme, a comprehensive eye examination is a good supplementary piece.

In addition to making your employee package more competitive and helping to retain valuable employees, a thorough vision care scheme can increase employee health awareness, leading to a healthier and more productive workforce.

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The Futurist: A vision for the future - Human Resources Online

HR and IT functions need to keep helping each other to identify gaps in employee working patterns that require attention, says Usha Baidya, vice-president, human resources, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, BT.

Technology has brought comprehensive changes to the way companies operate and is now integral to every department especially HR. BT has a strong history of investment in HR technology and we host a global portal for all our HR systems, processes and policies.

Over the years, HR technology has brought significant improvements to businesses. Gone are the days when HR systems were only used to hold employee data, payroll and recruitment information.

These days, HR departments dont even have to create their own recruitment software. HR functions can now connect cloud-based HR systems to social networks to acquire talent in competitive markets.

We have entered a new wave of HR technology and the role and function of HR continues to change and evolve. Business leaders are requesting real-time employee insights on the go and HR departments need to be ready to meet this demand in real-time.

This is particularly important as HR technology is no longer a simple tool just to make HR processes more efficient, but also used by different teams within an organisation to make strategic decisions.

According to BTs 2016 Mobile Multiplier Study, nearly 80% of employees want to work either remotely or from home, via technology. Without this capability, dissatisfaction levels will rise and they may eventually consider leaving the company.

Employees also need accurate and reliable information in real-time and on-demand to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively so technology has an important role in equipping people with the tools that allow them to do their job easily.

HR and IT functions need to keep helping each other to identify gaps in employee working patterns that require attention, whether via changes in processes, systems or tools.

Close collaboration between HR and IT departments also allows both teams to be aware of employee usage behaviour and how data security threats can be avoided well ahead of time, by finding the right tools that serve the desired workplace requirements.

In the future, HR leaders need to focus on building digital HR strategies and roadmaps. There are lots of HR systems, products and apps available in the marketplace, which allow leaders to focus on productivity, employee engagement, innovation, team work, collaboration and coaching.

As a HR function, we need to be on the front foot and develop advanced predictive models and data analytics to meet the changing demands of those managing an agile and mobile workforce.

The June 2017 issue of Human Resources magazine is a special edition, bringing you interviews with 12 HR leaders, with their predictions on the future of HR.

ReadThe Futuristor subscribe here.

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The Futurist: Why HR and IT need to be closer - Human Resources Online

Jul 10, 2017 - (Newswire)

Solving problems before your customers even know they have the problem is a laudablegoal. How can an organization do that? Jack Uldrichsays, "Start thinking like a Futurist."

Global Futurist Jack Uldrichis a distinguishedspeaker and best-sellingauthor. He travelsthe world speaking on future trends in a myriad of industries including education, finance, healthcare, agriculture, energy, and transportation.

"Thinking like a futurist involves appreciating how the world of tomorrow is changing. Far toooften companies are fixated on issues that are only front and center; or at times, they are stuck dealing with issues from the past. They aren't taking time out to reflect on what the future will hold in store."

Today, Uldrichwill address a leadinginfrastructure solution provider here in the Twin Cities. His audience will consistof Tech Management Specialists as well as Technologists in several industries including healthcare.

He will deliver his keynote: Foresight 20/20: Ten Game-ChangingTechnological Trends Transforming the world of Tomorrow.

The talk, based on his most recent bookForesight 20/20,will focus on advances in mobile web video communications, virtual and augmented reality, social media, robotics, gaming dynamics, renewable energies, "Big Data," the Internet of Things, as well as cybersecurity advances. He will also delve into quantum computing and how it will continue to drive seismic change and deliver paradigm-shattering transformation to nearly every facet of society.

Uldrich says, "Thinking like futuristsrevolves around these basic tenets: understanding the trends transforming the world of tomorrow;takingaction in the face of uncertainty; developing an appreciation for humility and embracing the concept that unlearning is as important as learning when it comes to future trends."

Most importantly Uldrichwantshis audiencemembersto adopt new open mindsets and to begin acquiringthe tools to create the future themselves.

Following his talk in Minneapolis, Uldrichwill be off toconducta three-day experiential leadership seminar based on leadership lessons of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in Great Falls, Montana.

Parties interested in learning more aboutJack Uldrich, his books, his daily blog or his speaking availability are encouraged to visit hiswebsiteor to contactAmy Tomczykat amy@jackuldrich.com.

Original Source: https://www.newswire.com/news/futurist-jack-uldrich-to-speak-on-top-ten-future-trends-for-leading-it-19664529

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Futurist Jack Uldrich to Speak on Top Ten Future Trends for Leading IT Advocate - WireUpdate

HR has the opportunity and responsibility to hire capable, diverse people with ideas and the capacity to think out of the box, says Lelia Konyn, head of human resources and corporate affairs at Shun Shing Group.

Companies increasingly call for innovation to stimulate growth, update business models, increase performance and appeal to customers.

The logic is simple: companies need to innovate to stay current, compete and create value and many are grappling with the realisation that what got us here will not take us forward. Hence, the need to engage employees and create processes conducive to business innovation overall.

Enter HR. As the custodian of people strategy and processes, HR has a tremendous opportunity to hire capable, diverse people with ideas and the capacity to think out of the box. HR is also the custodian of organisation design, and is often put in charge of corporate culture. People, organisation and culture is all it takes to foster innovation.

So why isnt there more innovation about? Because the very aspects that offer HR tremendous opportunities offer significant challenges:

Integration means embracing the company culture and the way things are done. Fitting in. Divergent ideas challenging the status quo are suppressed or watered down. The comfort of groupthink sets in.

Most companies are systemically not built to facilitate, sustain or nurture innovation. Few are the hierarchies in which bosses ideas, decisions or processes can be questioned and debated openly and consistently as a process.

Matrix organisations increase complexity: numerous functions, business units and locations often operate in silos with poor co-ordination, information flow and slow decision-making.

Corporate culture defines the acceptable way to act and work within an organisation. Complacency, lack of process to speak up and debate, fear of making mistakes in a blame culture, change aversion, endless emails and meetings are not conducive to innovation.

So what can HR do?

The June 2017 issue of Human Resources magazine is a special edition, bringing you interviews with 12 HR leaders, with their predictions on the future of HR.

ReadThe Futuristor subscribe here.

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The Futurist: Innovation challenges for HR - Human Resources Online

In Brief Ray Kurzweil, Google's chief engineer, is a famous futurist who's always banked on the coming of the singularity when artificial intelligence overcomes human intelligence. For that to happen, however, we need to figure out the master algorithm.

Todays artificial intelligence (AI) systems are, no doubt, considerably advanced. There are now intelligent machine learning algorithms capable of driving vehicles, assisting doctors, or even engaging in art and in almost-human conversation. However, despite AI programmed as artificial deep neural networks, these are still far from actually mimicking what the human brain is capable of.

Renowned futurist and Google engineer Ray Kurzweil thinks that the key to human-level AIis a master algorithm, and he believes that the brain holdsa blueprint to this. The famous inventor and thinker, known for his mostly accurate predictions about future technologies, said that the brains neocortex that part of the brain thats responsible for intelligent behavior consists of roughly 300 million modules that recognize patterns. These modules are self-organized into hierarchies that turn simple patterns into complex concepts.

Despite neuroscience advancing by leaps and bounds over the years, we still havent quite figured out how the neocortex works. Kurzweil argued that these multiple modules all have the same algorithm, he said in the video by the Singularity Universityposted above. The mathematics of thinking, I think, is being understood, Kurzweil added, but I would not claim that we understand it fully. But were getting more and more hints as we learn more and more about the human brain.

Perhaps soon enough, well figure out that master algorithm and understand our brains better. Then well either be able to make better AI or AI thats better than us. Its worth finding out.

Link:
Ray Kurzweil: There's a Blueprint for the Master Algorithm in Our Brains - Futurism

Demolishing Scarborough's Futurist Theatre was the right thing to do.

That's the view of the Leader of Scarborough Borough Council, Councillor Derek Bastiman. Last month we told about the recent decision by a High Court judge not to allow a case against the borough council, brought by campaigners from the Save the Futurist Group trying to save the venue.

The campaign group was also told to pay costs to the borough council of 10,000. The group wanted a judicial review into the council's decision to demolish the building, which was decided back in January.

Derek said:

"The outcome was what I expected because I believe that this authority has done everything in a correct, right and proper manner.

In fact the Ombudsman found in our favour that everything had been done in the right manner.

So I don't mind this authority being taken to court because I know, through the legal advice that we obtained, we did everything right and proper.

There was a lot of opposition, but by the same token, I got and still get some horrible emails and letters addressed to me.

They have no sense of decency whatsoever. They've accused me and others of doing all kinds of things.

I have always done what I think is fair and right, and I think the decision to demolish the Futurist was right. "

Listen to Derek's interview with Yorkshire Coast Radio's Jon Burke below:

The judicial review was lodged in April, and the Save the Futurist Campaign Group becameSave The Futurist Theatre (Scarborough) Ltd.

They were tasked with raising 10,000 in order to fund legal services and a further 6,000 to cover specialist legal advice.

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"Demolishing The Futurist Was The Right Thing To Do" - Yorkshire Coast Radio

Elon Musk has a known penchant for reading in general, but there at least 4 ways comic books may have helped shape his persona.

Co-founder and previous co-owner of PayPal and Zip2, current CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Chairman of SolarCity, Elon Musk, at 45, is one of the most visionary entrepreneurs alive.

Musk, who, in the1990s attended a physics Ph.D. program at Stanford University and then left after only two days because it was irrelevant to himhas made his love for reading well-known. When you ask him how he managed to build and launch rockets, he reportedly says I read books.

Last year, Musks reading habits made headlines when he name-dropped and recommended an out-of-print history book,Twelve Against the Gods,which then sold out on Amazon within hours.

Beside fantasy and Sci-fi stories which he used to cope (J.R.R. Tolkien and Isaac Asimov), comic book themes, and especially super heroes, also had a big effect on Elon as a kid and the adult he would later become.

Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Tony Stark (Iron Man) are both men with a genius-level intellect whose super powers stem from a combination of wealth and love for science and technology.

We could learn from these two popular super heroes, as Elon the kid would have, that being smart can be a superpower that can be leveraged to the greater good. We can see some elements from the Caped Crusader and the Avengers member back stories in Musk, such as loving science, having a vision and a plan to serve humanity.

As far as Hollywood is concerned, this is perhaps the golden age of themultiverse, or shared universes, whatever you want to call it. But before Marvel and DC got into businessin mediums like Netflix Originals, the concept has been already in use in comics.

Interconnected plotlines that have a greater impact on a much bigger arc may have inspired Musk how to see the big picture, define priorities and have a plan as to where hes heading from the start.

And when we look at it, we see Musk as a macro thinker who plays with mini-plots to set the stage for some kind of a big denouement. Take Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity: while each has its own agenda, its clear theyre synergistically operating in Musks universe.

Being one of the most formulaic genres, comic book themes and narratives often rely on saving the world from an apocalyptic threat. But before getting to that in the third act, our heroes have to discover their powers, harness them and learn how to use them for the good of humanity.

In a similar way, Musk seems to be in the process of getting the tools (clean energy, space exploration) to save the world, not from supervillains, but from its own demons. After all, Musks has a Mars Plan and his ultimate goal is making humanity an interplanetary species.

Theres a nod to all Spider-Man fans.

But apart from being the most quotable line from the web-slingers story, its not exactly unique among comic book themes. Acquiring and using a super power, whether by technological or supernatural means, is often balanced by ethical questions that affect the heros journey.

In 2015, along with Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Noam Chomsky and hundreds of other AI and Robotic researchers, Musk endorsed an open-letter that warns against AI misuse.

Now, with his forward thinking and innovative projects, Musk is building the power slowly and steadily, but he seems to be already aware of the challenges that come with it.

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4 Comic Book Themes that Made Elon Musk a Futurist - Edgy Labs (blog)