What's Emerging April 2022
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy
Welcome to our April version of the newsletter.
In the next few weeks, Paul will continue working with a council on their community vision. He is also running a project on how to maximise the adoption of new irrigation technologies in the Dairy and Cotton industries via the use of Sense Maker narrative collection techniques. He will also be continuing work with Vision Australia on their 10 year vision and strategic planning and working with the General Melbourne Cemetery Trust on strategy. He will also continue a scenario project with the New Zealand veterinary profession on the future for veterinary science. He will also be speaking at the Australian Veterinary Association Conference at the Gold Coast in May, an agriculture conference on the future of plant protein as human food, and an innovation day for the complementary medicines industry. He is helping to organise a conference on the future of the farm later in the year and has joined a new global research project led by Simon Wardley from the UK. More on that later.
He has also started a pro-bono project with 100 Story Building as a lead Partner for Social Venture Partners Melbourne which will involve a comprehensive business model review.
Please Contact Us if you want to talk about any of these approaches for your organisation or industry or want a presentation for your organisation or conference.
The Emergent Futures Team
In case you missed it. The most popular link from the last edition:
How Futurists Cope With Uncertainty
Paul: A very good description of a tool I use all the time although I call it Quick and Dirty Scenarios or Deductive Scenarios rather than Amy’s term of Axes of Uncertainty...…. Read more
What are we Writing About?
Paul was unwell in the last couple of weeks (well on the road to recovery now) so there is nothing in this section this edition.
What’s Emerging
Population growth forecasts for Western Sydney slashed as migration stalls during pandemic
Migration breaks from COVID-19 border closures are likely to impact key Western Sydney suburbs, some will see a 21% decrease in the projected population growth...…. read more
DALL·E 2 Explained
DALL·E 2 is a new AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language. Paul: It is showing amazing leaps forward.
Amazon is quietly developing a 'new-to-world' AR product
The ecommerce giant has been looking to hire a number of people for an unannounced AR/VR product in recent months. Among the roles Amazon is looking to fill are a wide variety of senior positions for computer vision scientists, designers, program managers, product managers, researchers and technologists, suggesting that the company is looking to build out a substantive team....…..Read more
Bio-inspired technology could one day lead to a bionic eye
UO researchers have grown rodent retinal neurons on a fractal-patterned electrode, one that mimics the repeating branching pattern in which neurons naturally grow. It's a step closer to making a bio-inspired bionic eye, a longstanding goal for UO physicist Richard Taylor....….. Read more
Ioniq 5 EVs with V2G to create world-first “bi-directional” energy system
The Dutch city of Utrecht is home to the new-build neighbourhood of Cartesius, which will include 2,530 sustainable homes alongside a huge central park, a shared vegetable garden, walking and cycling routes and access to share cars such as the Ioniq 5 from We Drive Solar via a handy app. It also wants to create the world’s first future energy system using bi-directional charging. The Ioniq 5s, already recognized for their vehicle-to-load capacity, will be used to provide vehicle-to-grid capabilities through special bi-directional charging stations...…… Read more
A Bold Idea to Stall the Climate Crisis—by Building Better Trees
Changing the genetic makeup of trees could supercharge their ability to suck up carbon dioxide. But are forests of genetically altered trees really a good idea?.....….. Read more
Drones Have Transformed Blood Delivery in Rwanda
The autonomous aircraft have shuttled blood to rural, mountainous areas for years. A new analysis proves they’re faster than driving..…. Read more
Human waste turned into renewable energy at Australia's first biosolids gasification plant
Logan, south of Brisbane, has become the first place in the Southern Hemisphere to turn human waste into renewable energy with the opening of Australia's first biosolids gasification plant. Water is taken out of the sewage sludge, which is then dried out before going into a furnace where it is burnt, and the gases produced are used to power the facility........….. Read more
Companies are using AI to monitor your mood during sales calls. Zoom might be next.
Software-makers claim that AI can help sellers not only communicate better, but detect the “emotional state” of a deal — and the people they’re selling to. Paul: What could possibly go wrong.....…..Read more
Computerized DNA motors are moving molecular robotics to the next level
Miniature molecular robots are seeing a massive boost in inspiration with new research producing the first DNA-based motors that combine computational power with the ability to burn fuel and move in an intention direction..….….Read more
Mushrooms communicate with each other using up to 50 ‘words’, scientist claims
Mathematical analysis of the electrical signals fungi seemingly send to one another has identified patterns that bear a striking structural similarity to human speech.…… Read More
Digital Advertising Soared 35% to $189 Billion in 2021 According to the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report
“What’s underneath these numbers is a very clear narrative. We are witnessing the total and complete democratization of access afforded by ad-supported digital channels,” said David Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, IAB. “Increased consumer usage coupled with extraordinary growth of small and mid-sized businesses during the pandemic has fueled growth across all digital — but especially digital audio and video.......…. Read more
UN warns of looming sand crisis as population and city growth lead to surging demand
Global consumption for use in glass, concrete and construction materials has tripled over two decades, to reach 50 billion tonnes a year — or about 17 kilograms per person each day — it said, harming rivers and coastlines and even wiping out small islands. "We now find ourselves in the position where the needs and expectations of our societies cannot be met without improved governance of sand resources," Sheila Aggarwal-Khan, director of the Economy Division at UNEP, said in the report's foreword.….. Read More
How Anitta megafans gamed Spotify to help create Brazil’s first global chart-topper
On March 25th, musical artist Anitta became the first Brazilian to reach the number one spot on a global music chart when her song “Envolver” became the most streamed track on Spotify’s Daily Top 50 Global playlist. It was streamed 6.4 million times, with 4.1 million of those streams coming from Brazil. But her success on Spotify’s charts isn’t just a result of the song’s catchy chorus: Anitta fans and music industry experts told Rest of World that some of “Envolver”’s success can be attributed to fans gaming the platform’s algorithms in ways that potentially broke Spotify’s terms and conditions. At least some of that behavior was encouraged by Anitta’s own team, which pushed fans to inflate her streams on the platform.......……. Read more
Business Tips
How to use your iPad as a second Mac screen for free
Turning your iPad into a Mac display is free, it’s easy, and it’ll make you more productive. What’s not to love? Paul: I don’t use a Mac so I use Duet to act as a second screen for my laptop. Not free…… Read more
Can your mobile phone get a virus? Yes – but you'll have to look carefully to see the signs
There's a decent chance that at some point you've installed malware that infected your phone and worked (without you noticing) in the background. According to a global report commissioned by private company Zimperium, more than one-fifth of mobile devices have encountered malware. And four in ten mobiles worldwide are vulnerable to cyber attacks. But how do you know if your phone has been targeted? And what can you do?...……Read more
Investing wisely in a hybrid technology world
Organizations need to make the right investment choices when planning business transformation and managing old and new IT estate. Paul: A very good piece from one of my favourite people. Contact us if you want to learn how to use maps to get better at strategy. We have a free offering call “A Second Opinion” that you can apply to a real problem with our help so you can try before you buy....…. Read more
Want to cut your chance of catching COVID on a plane? Wear a mask and avoid business class
Paul: I have at least six flights in May for work after not setting foot on a plan for over 12 months. I plan to be very careful...……Read more
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