Category Archives: Transhuman News

There will be more change in the next 20 years than any 20- to 50-year period in history. In fact, future historians may well look back on this time as a historical transit as significant as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution or the Renaissance.

It is hard to imagine any area of life that will not be changed. This means that life will be disconcerting, disorienting and disruptive, and that reality as we know it today will end. This, of course, means that a significant percentage of humanity will endure a great psychological upset as we all like, or at least accept, our version of reality.

This is not a warning but a call for readers of this column to begin to prepare for massive, inevitable change. The name of this column is The Futurist. It is my responsibility as a futurist to be a catalyst to get people to think about the future and to help readers and audiences find context and concepts.

Here are just some of the changes ahead for Americans between now and the late 2030s:

Electric cars become the majority of all cars driven.

Autos that are autonomous, meaning driverless, become 25 to 75 percent of cars on the road.

The number of cars in America drops by 30 percent.

A move from fossil fuels to renewables, a move to energy that is free.

A movement toward a marginal-cost economy with ever lower prices for any part of the global economy that is connected to technology.

A loss of some 50 percent of all current jobs and professions due to artificial intelligence and big data.

The complete transformation of education and medicine.

The ability to extend the human lifetime to a maximum of 125 to 150 years.

Increasing the average life span from 80 to 100.

The emergence of a new,21st-century religion in which man and technology merge.

An emerging collective global consciousness.

The widespread use of virtual reality which will alter entertainment, education, training, travel and personal relations, in short redefining most human experiences.

Global legalization of marijuana.

Largely curing cancer and other diseases as a result of altering DNA for personalized treatments.

Climate change will redefine weather, seasons and coastlines and will create both tens of millions of refugees per year and hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars of real estate and other economic losses.

An urgent development of crew consciousness for This Spaceship Earth as the red warning light and buzzer for getting "all hands on deck" starts to go off in the next five years.

A reinvention beginning of both capitalism and democracy.

The list could go on, but the above provides an indication of what lies ahead. I am so confident of these forecasts that you can cut out this column and file it away to read in 2025 or 2030.

Recently I have been receiving an increasing number of requests to deliver keynote presentations to organizations as the desire increases to seek out a futurist as uncertainty and unease increases. My career as a speaker actually took off when the Great Recession hit.

My current presentation is called Shift//Transformation: 2017-2037. In it, I start off with some definitions and quotes that I want to share with readers of this column as they may help you prepare for the massive changes ahead.

The definition of shift: To put something aside and replace it with another or others, to change or exchange.

The definition of transformation: A change in form, appearance, nature or character.

A quote from Dr. Alvin Toffler, one of the greatest futurists of the last 50 years:The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.

And perhaps my favorite quote about the future, from Miguel de Unamuno, a Spanish essayist who died in 1936:We should try to be the parents of our future rather than the offspring of our past.

So, in your business, your profession or your personal life, open up to embracing change and accepting transformation so you can prepare yourself to enjoy being alive during one of the most interesting times in history.

Sarasota resident David Houle is a globally recognized futurist. He has given speeches on six continents, written seven books and is futurist in residence at the Ringling College of Art + Design. His website is davidhoule.com. Email him at david@davidhoule.com.

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DAVID HOULE, THE FUTURIST: Disruption ahead in the next 20 years - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

It's tough enough getting and keeping a job when competing against other humans... but what about when you're competing with the relentless advance of technology? National Political Editor Malcolm Farr talks us through the relentless advance of technology, and how it is shaping the workplace.

Think your cosy office job is safe?

MILLIONS of Australians are destined for the unemployment queue if they dont wake up to the robot revolution, warns futurist Shara Evans.

Creeping automation is set to transform how we work, shop and socialise and the changes are a lot closer than most people realise.

New research by recruitment agency Randstad reveals that 84 per cent of Australians surveyed are not concerned that automation will affect their future job prospects, while 77 per cent believe that they wont need to change careers in the next 10 years.

But the reality was the opposite, said Ms Evans, who suggested Australians take their heads out of the sand and wise up to the dramatic transformation that had already begun.

The reality is that 40 per cent of current jobs in Australia wont exist in 10 to 15 years due to automation thats five million jobs gone, she said, citing the latest report on the topic by CEDA.

If I look at the exponential advancements in technology, it is very clear that this figure will continue to rise.

The really scary part? Its not future innovation that puts our jobs at risk, but existing technology that is available for use right now.

SALARIES WIPED OUT

A recent report by consulting firm McKinsey found that 45 per cent of the activities people are currently paid for could be automated using currently demonstrated technologies.

Robotic checkout systems are being rolled out at convenience stores in Japan, and insurance firm Fukoku Life replaced 34 of its claims assessors with robots earlier this year.

The company laid off the workers after spending $2.36 million on a computer program that calculates payouts to policyholders, a move it said would boost productivity by 30 per cent.

Fukoku Life expected to save about $1.65 million a year on salaries with the new system, meaning it would pay itself off in less than two years.

Amazon now has 45,000 robots moving products around its cavernous warehouses, an approach that has been adopted by companies like DHL Logistics as they scramble to keep up with the e-commerce giant.

Chinese e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, last week predicted that even chief executives like himself would see their jobs taken over by robots.

And Volvo has predicted that driverless cars will become commercially available in the next five years, a prospect that would make taxi and Uber drivers redundant.

The rise of automation is so significant that Microsoft founder Bill Gates has called for governments to impose a robot tax to slow down the pace of automation a suggestion Ms Evans said was a nice idea, but not viable to implement.

We are already seeing robots performing concierge tasks within the retail space, and the future workplace will see humanoid type robots with greater physical capabilities, she said.

The appeal of robots was not just their ability to do things faster than humans; in industries like agriculture or mining, Ms Evans said, they could be used to gather valuable data on ground conditions, with sensors to detect mineral deposits or analyse the bugs on crops.

And more and more businesses would start to use robots and artificial intelligence systems as they became cheaper, while skill shortages threatened to speed up the spread of the technology.

MAKE YOURSELF IRREPLACEABLE

So how can you keep your job safe from the robots?

According to Ms Evans, the key was to be aware of which aspects of your role could be automated, and look for ways to develop skills that will make you irreplaceable.

There are certain job categories that are more prone to automation first, she said.

If a job is a lot of predictable, repetitive behaviour and a fairly low cost to implement automation to replicate that labour, those are the kinds of jobs that are likely to be affected first.

Next on the list were jobs involving data processing and data collection, both of which could be easily replaced by artificial intelligence like the Japanese insurance company mentioned above.

Even those people lucky enough to stay employed would likely find their job descriptions changing, Ms Evans said.

Shara Evans with the Ehang 184 autonomous personal flying vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show.Source:Supplied

If youve got someone who used to just analyse data and is not really doing a whole lot of social interaction, and that task has been subsumed by an AI bot, their job role might take on more of a customer-centric focus, she said.

But that particular individual may not be suited to move into the more customer-centred focus because of their innate personality.

Emotional intelligence, strategic planning, social and creative skills would remain in demand, she said.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

The impact of the changes would depend on how well they had prepared. Ms Evans said.

For somebody that has their head in the sand and they find their job has been replaced by automation, and they havent bothered to look at what else theyre good at reskilling, those changes would be pretty devastating, she said.

But on the flip side, young Australian who kept their finger on the pulse would be the first to benefit from the amazing possibilities of future job roles that aren't even invented yet, Ms Evans said, citing fields such as genetic research, bionics and 3D printing as likely growth areas.

They might look at 3D printing and realise how many different materials are being used and become a materials expert, or learn how to program and design robots or become an expert on integrating them into the workforce, she said.

Theres just so many new job possibilities that the technology will open up. Yes, jobs will disappear, but new ones will be created; youve just got to make sure that youve got the skill sets to step into those roles.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO

Do a skills inventory to understand what you are good at and what you want to do.

If your job does change, what other kinds of jobs would you enjoy doing? Where do they sit in the spectrum of automation?

Ask yourself how your skill set fits in with the jobs market and, if you need additional skills, take proactive measures to gain them.

dana.mccauley@news.com.au

How will the AI revolution change the world? Will there be a rise in robots? And how could AI soon be changing healthcare? Bloomberg follows the March of the Machines.

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Australians need to 'wake up' to the robot threat, with five million jobs at risk: Futurist Shara Evans - NEWS.com.au

The group trying to save Scarborough's Futurist Theatre says it needs more support from the public.

Campaigners are still waiting to hear about their application for a judicial review into Scarborough Borough Council's decision to demolish the building.

That was lodged last month by a new company that's been set up by the group-Save The Futurist Theatre (Scarborough) Ltd.

The group are still trying to raise more than 10,000 in order to fund the legal services and so far have raised just over 1,000.

They have also raised nearly the 6,000 target they need to cover the costs of specialist legal advice regarding the council's decision on the theatre.

The group is planning to hold a public meeting within the coming weeks.

Debi Silver is from Save The Futurist Theatre (Scarborough) Ltd. She said:

"The reason we're taking legal action against Scarborough Borough Council is because we're not happy with how the whole thing has been dealt with.

At the end of the day, we don't feel what they've done has been done correctly and it's left us with no other option.

I can't tell you the amount of work that's gone into bringing this case forward, presenting it to our solicitors.

This is a huge undertaking that's gone on, it's not been done lightly. Please continue to support the campaign and please donate some money to our JustGiving page."

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Futurist Campaign Group Asks For More Public Backing - Yorkshire Coast Radio

Friday April 28, 2017 more stories from this episode

This week marked the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 in Montreal. One of the biggest and most successful World Fairs of the 20th century, the event brought together 60 countries to showcase their most futuristic architectural and technological marvels in more than 60 pavilions.

By the time Expo closed in October 1967, it had welcomed more than 50 million visitors from around the world.

As we look back on its legacy five decades later, are we living in a very different future than Expo 67 predicted?

As historian and urbanist David Leonard explains to Day 6 host Brent Bambury, there's a lot Expo got wrong about the future but it had its prescient moments, too.

The 'People Tree' (which represented a maple tree in autumn) stands at the entrance to the main exhibit area of the Canadian pavilion at Expo 67. (Canadian Press)

Leonard, who's currently doing his PhD on memories of Expo 67 and the historical geography of the former site, first became interested in Expo during one of his walks through Montreal when he was an undergrad at McGill, stumbling across bits of sculpture and other remnants from the old site.

These "indicate that something spectacular and significant happened there, and they revealed that these islands were the staging place for the most significant event of the Canadian centennial project one of the most, if not the most, significant international events Canada has ever played host to," Leonard says.

He notes that Expo was more than simply a collection of buildings and displays under the theme 'Man and His World', the event was something of an exercise in international relations, with dozens of national pavilions, and exhibits touting international cooperation.

"['Man and His World'] was a examination of a theme of progress in society up until that point Expo 67 was was looking at the human condition," Leonard says. "It was very much an educational project, according to its planners' desires."

One of the shopping areas at Expo 67, May 1967. (Ron Case/Getty Images)

When it came to Expo's vision of the future, there were some things it got right, Leonard points out, including its focus on technology and mass media as the means to a better, more connected society.

"Expos' planners were particularly well aware of the extent to which we would come to live in a digital mass media society and the role of technology in our lives," Leonard says. "In a way, that premeditated a lot of the discussions we're still having about the role of technology [today]."

That said, Expo's outlook was far more utopian than how we've come to view our relationship with technology today.Leonard notes that we now look at it with a far more critical perhaps even wary lens, as opposed to the bright-eyed optimism of the '60s.

Given that Expo was wearing rose-coloured retro-futuristic glasses at a time when the space race, the Cold War, and the civil rights movement were all taking place, it's safe to say it also missed a lot of things or simply got some wrong, Leonard says.

"We certainly don't all live in geodesic domes like the Americans and Buckminster Fuller might have considered," Leonard quips. He argues that even architect Moshe Safdie's now-famed Habitat 67 project missed the mark when it came to its model for social housing, and much of the concrete architecture on the Expo site wasn't built to last and began to crumble and fall out of favour only a decade later.

'Habitat', designed by architect Moshe Safdie, one of the features of Expo 67 that still stands to this day. (Fox Photos/Getty Images)

One of the few remaining structures is the outside shell of the American pavilion, the large metal dome instantly recognizable in Montreal's cityscape. Today, it's the Biodome, an environmental museum open to the public.

Much of the remaining site (the original islands were created out of the St. Lawrence river) has now been turned into parkland, with little trace left of the space-age structures that once graced the area during Expo 67.

Montreal is currently marking the 50th anniversary of Expo during the city's 375th birthday celebrations, with a special passport for special events similar to the one handed out at Expo, and other exhibits looking back at what is still seen as Montreal's big moment on the world stage.

"The interesting thing about Expo is the nostalgia for it," Leonard says. "It's a powerful thing in the city of Montreal where the event really maintains a lasting cultural influence."

Now that we're living in the future that Expo 67 imagined, can an event of that magnitude, or large-scale architecture, express a similar optimism about what's to come?

"The borders of our imagination have perhaps shrunk drastically since Expo," Leonard says. "But these sorts of imaginings about the capacity of architecture or an exhibition to change the world, or a country, I don't believe these are possible in the present-day condition."

To hear Brent's full conversation withDavid Leonard, download our podcast or click the 'Listen' button at the top of this page.

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We're now living in the retro-futurist world that Expo 67 imagined - CBC.ca

Growing up we are all asked as kids, what do you want to be when you grow up? Some said, a doctor, a teacher or even an astronaut. We decided to ask a group of 6 year olds the same question. Many of them gave similar answers. But, a recent study shows 6 out of every 10 kids will grow up to take a job that doesnt even exist yet. Youre probably asking yourself, what are those jobs that dont exist?

We wanted to know too, so we went to the man who knows best. His name is Thomas Frey and he is known as Googles top futurist. Frey and his team gather and analyze data to better predict the future.

Frey says, jobs like an accountant will still be around in 10 to 20 years, but the tools we use to do that job will be vastly different.

Driverless cars are rapidly approaching and that means new jobs will be coming, but Frey says, that also means old jobs will be dwindling.

Were not going to have traffic cops, traffic cars, people writing insurance policies for cars or rental car industries.

Frey assures us that theres no such thing as a robot-apocalypse, but we should be ready for our old jobs to change. One of the things weve learned is that entire jobs dont go away, were automating tasks out of existence," says Frey.

He says the number one job of the future is that of a hustler. Its all about adapting to whatever future technology and changes come our way.

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Predicting the future of jobs - ABC2 News