Category Archives: Futurist

The X PRIZE Foundation, the brainchild of entrepreneur and futurist Peter Diamandis, is already working on everything from sending people to the moon, to cleaning up our oceans, to developing a real life Star Trek tricorder. And on Monday, the venerable non-profit announced another ambitious goal. It wants to bootstrap technology that will let the worlds children teach themselves to read and write.

The newly launched Global Learning X PRIZE is offering up $15 million to fund open source software that can remake education in the developing world. Ideally, Diamandis says, the X PRIZE team is looking for software that is artificially intelligent, so it can better understand how students learn and what their interests are, in order to keep them more engaged in their education.

This 200-year-old industrial age educational system that we all grew up in, in which we all sit in a classroom, the bell rings, and like cogs in a wheel, we change classrooms? Inevitably, half the students are lost, and half are bored, Diamandis told WIRED on Monday at the Social Good Summit in New York City, where the new prize was announced. The question is: How do you change that so its personalized education? Thats possible, and thats the goal.

Were aiming at kids who live in villages where theres nothing. This has to take them from complete illiteracy to basic reading, writing and numeracy.

As Diamandis admits, theres no shortage of technological innovation in education these days. The last few years have given birth to models like the massively open online course, which promises to give an elite global education to anyone online for free. But as important as this technology may be, he says, it often assumes a higher state of learning than exists. If you dont have the basics of education, you dont know how to use the web and dont know how to type in a URL, he says. Were aiming at kids who live in villages where theres nothing. This has to take them from complete illiteracy to basic reading, writing and numeracy.

If X PRIZE were to achieve such an ambitious goal, it wouldnt be the first time. In 2004, the foundation launched its Ansari X PRIZE, which challenged teams to create their own private spacecraft and is often credited with kickstarting what is now becoming a mature commercial spaceflight industry. Just last week, NASA awarded two multibillion dollar contracts to SpaceX and Boeing, entrusting them with the development of two new spacecraft that will shuttle NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station in the near future.

Im really proud we helped kick the private space flight industry in the butt, Diamandis says of the Ansari prizes legacy. We helped bring regulatory reform, capital to the marketplace, and more excitement about spaceflight to the industry.

Now, Diamandis hopes to replicate that success with the Global Learning prize. Teams will have six months to register, after which theyll have 18 months to build their software. It could be teams from Microsoft and Google or two kids in a garage from Nairobi, he says.

Then, the foundation will test those technologies with children throughout Africa, and it is now raising money through crowdfunding to expand that test from 5,000 kids to 10,000. Once the winning team is chosen, Diamandis says he plans to work with companies like Google, Samsung, HTC, and other device manufacturers to ensure the software is integrated into all of their new phones and tablets.

I want to make this software available for every tablet and smartphone out there, Diamandis says. Imagine that when someone gets a tablet in the future, it will become their teacher, as well.

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X Prize Pledges $15M for Software That Lets Children Teach Themselves

John Krubski - Futurist and Innovation Speaker, Author of Cracking The America Code
John Krubski is a seasoned, experienced, professional speaker. He has worked with a wide range of speakers bureaus (large and small, better known and less kn...

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John Krubski - Futurist and Innovation Speaker, Author of Cracking The America Code - Video

Anaheim, CA (PRWEB) September 21, 2014

On Sunday, September 21st Futurist Jack Uldrich will lead a general session for the 2014 Charted Property and Casual Underwriters' Society in Anaheim, California. The 2014 Annual meeting, kicked off by Earvin "Magic" Johnson as their keynote speaker, is shaping up to be a great event. Uldrich will lead his session on Future Trends and the Insurance industry.

In accordance with their mission of "Learn More, Do More, Be More," Uldrich will address the mindset surrounding the attainment of technical knowledge that CPSU Society Members can immediately apply and empower themselves to confidently meet the challenges facing their businesses.

Uldrich's keynote aims to keep the CPSU Society on track and step up their game when it comes to the latest technological trends affecting the Insurance Industry. Some of the topics that he will address with the group are included in this article: Five Foreseeable Future Risks. Other highlights will include how leaders at the CPSU Society Annual Meeting can learn to embrace ambiguity;" why finding a reverse mentor could be crucial; and why taking small risks may very well be the safest thing underwriters can do to position themselves for success in the years to come.

Jack Uldrich is a renowned global futurist, independent scholar, professional business speaker and best-selling author who helps organizations succeed by delivering new perspectives on competitive advantage, organizational change and transformational leadership. He has served as an adviser to Fortune 1000 companies and spoken to hundreds of businesses and organizations on how to keep up with, and profit from, future trends and emerging technologies. Uldrich's work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, the Futurist, and in hundreds of other newspapers and publications around the country. He is also a recurrent guest of the media worldwide, having appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and National Public Radio on numerous occasions.

Parties interested in learning more about Jack Uldrich, his books, his daily blog or his speaking availability are encouraged to contact Amy Tomczyk at (651) 343.0660.

Jack Uldrich is a renowned global futurist, technology forecaster, best-selling author, editor of the quarterly newsletter, The Exponential Executive, and host of the award-winning website, http://www.jumpthecurve.net.

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Learn More, Do More, Be More: Global Futurist Jack Uldrich Joins Magic Johnson and Steve Wilder and Others Addressing ...

Starting at the bottom and clawing your way to the top of the corporate ladder worked for baby boomers and their parents.

But, that model of success no longer applies to the modern workplace, which features workers and customers who are increasingly interconnected, culturally diverse and are playing by a different set of rules, a workplace expert said Thursday.

Seth Mattison is founder of the company Futuresight and advises corporations about emerging trends in the workplace. He provided a big-picture view of how the workplace is changing during the Billings Chamber of Commerces annual meeting.

Mattison showed a slide with a graphic detailing a pyramid-shaped corporate structure, with the chief executive at the top and a base of low-level workers reporting to middle-management supervisors, who then report to the top brass. Its a familiar structure for just about anybody who has held a job.

His next slide provided a much different picture. An almost random pattern of interconnected dots and squiggles represents how people increasingly interact with each other through the Internet and social media.

We live in a half-changed world where the structure of the organization chart still exists, Mattison said. But that often conflicts with the network of connections that are familiar to the younger generation.

Most baby boomers grew up in households where parents were the main source of knowledge. They gave orders and doled out punishment whenever the kids stepped out of line. Modern families are populated by children who have grown up with the Internet. Increasingly, youngsters are showing their teachers and parents how to use technology.

This represents a big shift in society. For the first time, the younger generation is helping older people learn and adapt to new ideas and technology, he said.

He illustrated that point by showing a series of magazine covers depicting young entrepreneurs who struck it rich while still in their teens or 20s.

How many times did you see a teenager on the cover of business publication when you were growing up? Mattison said.

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Futurist urges Chamber to be open to learning from young workers

Elliott Masie - Futurist and Speaker on Technology and Trends
Elliott Masie is an internationally recognized futurist, analyst, researcher and organizer on the critical topics of workforce learning, business collaboration and emerging technologies. He...

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Elliott Masie - Futurist and Speaker on Technology and Trends - Video

Interview With Futurist John Smart - Power Summit Scottsdale 2014
What does strategist John Smart think about the future of the promotional products industry? Find out in this interview with Counselor from the ASI Power Summit 2014. Click here for an ASI...

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Interview With Futurist John Smart - Power Summit Scottsdale 2014 - Video

Dr. Ken Dychtwald - Futurist and Speaker on Marketing and the Changing Workforce
Over the past 35+ years, Dr. Ken Dychtwald has emerged as North America #39;s foremost visionary and original thinker regarding the lifestyle, marketing, healthc...

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Dr. Ken Dychtwald - Futurist and Speaker on Marketing and the Changing Workforce - Video

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) September 17, 2014

When your vision is to be the leading global resource for packaging and processing, and your mission is to improve and promote members abilities to succeed in a global marketplace calling in a global futurist like Jack Uldrich to discuss the latest technologies that will affect you and your future is smart thing to do. And that is precisely what the Packaging Machine Manufacturers Institute is doing on September 17th.

Founded in 1933, PMMI is a trade association made up of more than 650 member companies that manufacture packaging, processing and packaging-related converting machinery, commercially-available packaging machinery components, containers and materials in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

PMMI members are globally renowned for making the highest quality equipment, offering responsive service and committing to meeting their customers needs. To that end, being on the cutting of edge of technology is crucial, and Jack Uldrich, as a futurist has his finger on the pulse of the technologies that PMMI needs to be watching for and utilizing in the coming years.

Among the ten technologies that Uldrich will discuss with the PMMI group are things like the new Leap Motion control (hand gesture technology,) advanced 3D manufacturing techniques which may well transform and revolutionize the future of manufacturing, as well as sophisticated robotics which are already providing a healthy advantage in the production of many packaging and manufacturing materials.

When it comes to the future of manufacturing Uldrich says, "Five years ago, a 3D printera device that can manufacture physical objectscost $100,000. Today, similar printers are available for $1,000 and are poised to revolutionize the world of manufacturing. What will the world of tomorrow look like? The time to start thinking about this is now."

The Author of "The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business" Uldrich will also address how nanotechnology will transform the manufacturing industry in the coming years.

Uldrich says, "In the coming year, packaging leaders can also expect to hear more about the Internet of Things. In its simplest form, the idea is that in the coming decade an estimated 50 billion physical objects will be connected to the Internet through low-cost, wireless sensors. What makes the technology so potentially revolutionary is that some of the sensors will be nano-barcodes that can authenticate products (such as valuable pharmaceutical drugs) or nano-sensors that can read a host of information, including temperature, humidity and the level of exposure to oxygen, and then relay this information to manufacturers, distributors and customers to provide a complete history of the item."

Uldrich who speaks all over the world on a variety of topics such as future trends, emerging technologies, innovation, change management and leadership, is also a leading expert on assisting businesses unlearn and adapt during times of transition. He has served as an adviser to Fortune 1000 companies and is noted for his ability to deliver provocative, new perspectives on competitive advantage, organizational change and transformational leadership.

Parties interested in learning more about him, his books, his daily blog or his speaking availability are encouraged to visit his website. Media wishing to know more about either the event or interviewing Jack as a futurist or trend expert can contact Amy Tomczyk at (651) 343.0660.

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Ten Technologies Affecting You, Your Customers and Your Business: Futurist Jack Uldrich to Keynote an Event with the ...

Ever wondered how your mind works? Tune into Brain Games on National Geographic to get an informed view.

The Emmy-nominated host of Brain Games, Jason Silva, reveals the inner workings of the mind through interactive experiments. The executive producer of the show invited me to host Brain Games. It has been a wonderful opportunity, says Jason over phone.

In the show, various facets such as addiction, language, superstitions, patterns, compassion, anger, battle of the sexes and intuition are explored, from which startling facts emerge. Speaking of one of the episodes, Intuition, which is often dismissed as irrational, Jason says: What we call intuition is the sub-conscious knowledge that we have collected over years of experience. In the show, we ask a series of questions and try to prove that most people follow their intuition.

A futurist and filmmaker, Jason has generated huge interest on the internet with his short films, Shots of Awe. These short videos has been termed as philosophical espresso. Jason explores topics such as technology, science, the evolution of intelligence and even love. Shots of Awe is what I am truly thinking about, at any given moment. I am a cerebral ruminator. I work through my cerebral philosophical obsessions through a short video platform.

The videos are well executed and inspire one to think beyond. The videos arent just flights of fancy of the mind. They are anchored. There is a desire to reconcile the philosophical tangent with closure.

Jason has been variously termed, as a performance philosopher and an epiphany addict. Ask him how he describes himself and Jason says: I like the term Carl Sagan coined wonder junkie, says Jason who grew up in Venezuela and has a degree in philosophy and film.

Jason believes that technology is seeing a rapid and exponential change. He says that technology will amplify our human experience to a point that we cannot comprehend. The next level of technology is that we are going to put it in our brains.

Jason has been a television presenter on former US Vice President Al Gores Current TV and is a global speaker, and has spoken at TEDGlobal, Googles Zeitgeist Conference, among others.

Brain Games is aired from Monday to Friday on National Geographic at 9 pm.

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Mind matrix

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) September 16, 2014

On September 16th Jack Uldrich, Global Futurist and Best Selling Author, will be addressing AgBank's District CFO Meeting in Minneapolis, MN. Uldrich will be discussing the "10 Things We Should Be Thinking About."

When it comes to finance Uldrich says, "Banking executives need to become what I call 'Exponential Executives.' That is, leaders who understand that as impressive as past technological advances have beenthe ATM, online banking, and mobile banking, etc.,they are just the beginning.

Banking interactions will continue to evolve as customers physical and virtual worlds become intertwined, and social networks and mobile platforms will transform customers banking experiences and expectations. Still other advances will create an environment where a premium is placed on unconventional thinking and risk-taking."

A highly acclaimed futurist and trend expert, Uldrich has spoken all over the world to a variety of industries and organizations. Among the topics and trends Uldrich will discuss with AgBank audience members are precision agriculture, prescriptive planting, 3D manufacturing, wearable technology, robotics, the "Internet of Things," genomics, nanotechnology, peer-to-peer lending, collaborative consumption and "Big Data."

Uldrich has delivered presentations to such notable clients as Verizon Wireless, the AMA, PepsiCo, Bausch and Lomb, United Healthcare, as well as hundreds of Agricultural Groups all over the world including Novozymes, Land O'Lakes, Ag Gateway, FS Agronomy, Canada's Agricultural Adaptation Council, the California Ag Summit, and the 2014 PMA, among others. His writings include "The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business" and "Into the Unknown: Leadership Lessons from Lewis & Clarks Daring Westward Expedition."

Parties interested in learning more about Jack Uldrich, his books, his daily blog or his speaking availability are encouraged to visit his website. Media wishing to know more about the event or interviewing Jack can contact Amy Tomczyk at (651) 343.0660.

Jack Uldrich is a renowned global futurist, technology forecaster, best-selling author, and editor of the monthly newsletter, The Exponential Executive.

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Futurist Jack Uldrich to Address 10 Things We Should Be Thinking About with AgBank