Industries: Future

Mar
28

Coming Soon: The $10 Genome

Back in 2008, I encouraged experts in the health care, pharmaceutical and insurance industries to “jump the curve” and begin contemplating the consequences of being able to sequence the human genome for $1000. This future appears likely to arrive by the end of 2012 — a year earlier than I originally estimated. Alas, the future [...]

Mar
16

For Future’s Sake: Think Outside the Box

Last year, in a survey of global CEO’s, it was said that creativity and innovative thinking would be the most critical skills of the future. As a futurist and business forecaster, I agree. It’s a cliche to say we need “to think outside the box” but I want to share with you just two ideas [...]

Mar
15

How Not to Use Technology

Not knowing how to use a new technology has a long and storied past. The latest video to capture this idea in a humorous way comes compliments of a German TV show: For funny videos from the past, check out these two videos:

Mar
8

A Tailored Fit: The Future of Retail

(Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, 20/20 Foresight: A Futurist Looks Ahead to the Ten Trends That Will Shape the World of 2020, that I am writing with the able assistance of fellow futurist Simon Anderson. This chapter takes a look at the future of retail.) In the summer of 2011, Tesco, [...]

Mar
7

A Futurist Strolls Down Wall Street

Do you remember the 1987 movie, Wall Street, in which Michael Douglas plays Wall Street tycoon, Gordon Gecco. In the movie, they show Gekko using a Motorola DynaTac 8000X cellphone. In 1987, the phone–which is now known as “The Brick”–cost $3,995.00. Fast forward to 2012. The photo to your right (below) is of an unemployment [...]