What's Emerging mid-March 2022
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy
Welcome to our mid-March of newsletter.
Sorry it is slightly late, the last couple of weeks have been a bit busier than usual.
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 has also just started 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, an innovation day for the complementary medicines industry, and another syndicate of the CEO Institute on foresight for practical strategy. 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.
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:
A productivity trick from Sahil Bloom
A simple calendar review trick that could change how you do things (Paul: This is a repeat from the last newsletter but it had three times the clicks of any other link so we are including it again) ….Read more
What are we Writing About?
Paul did one of his semi-regular radio session on Gippsland FM on Saturday touching on oil and food prices, geopolitical risk, and long term implications of the invasion of Ukraine. A light and cheerful discussion (not) You can listen to it HERE
What’s Emerging
Starbucks wants to become the gas station of the future for EVs
Paul: I have long believe that destination charging is going to outcompete petrol stations and that petrol stations will mostly vanish from the landscape. …. read more
Government commits $240 million to critical minerals projects in mission to end Australia's reliance on China
The Australian outback has become the stage for a renewed push to safeguard the future of western industries and break a near complete reliance on critical minerals from China.…. Read more
Antigenic evolution will lead to new SARS-CoV-2 variants with unpredictable severity
Paul: As much as we would like the Pandemic to be over and have the wishful thinking that endemic means the same as mild (Malaria is endemic in many places but far from mild), that is not the only forward possibility..….. Read more
Cincinnati Children's reduced hospital admissions 38% by offering legal help to remedy poor living situations
A reminder that health is a complex social issue ..…… Read more
Radiant
Radiant designs and builds portable, low-cost one-megawatt nuclear fission microreactors that fit in a shipping container, power about 1,000 homes and use TRISO fuels and a helium coolant instead of water. Go watch the video. Its insane...…..Read more
Drones are getting more stealthy, and detection technology is struggling to keep up. Scientists turned to hoverfly brains for help
By painstakingly measuring and modeling the neurology of the hoverfly's vision system, they've built an algorithm that extends detection ranges by up to 50 per cent, the researchers say.....….. Read more
These Astonishing Minecraft Builds Were Years in the Making
Creative and dedicated, the master builders of the best-selling video game have forged some incredible structures…. Read more
Wireless Sensors: Tiny Battery-Free Devices Float In The Wind Like Dandelion Seeds
Inspired by how dandelions use the wind to distribute their seeds, a University of Washington team has developed a tiny sensor-carrying device that can be blown by the wind as it tumbles toward the ground. This system is about 30 times as heavy as a 1 milligram dandelion seed but can still travel up to 100 meters in a moderate breeze, about the length of a football field, from where it was released by a drone. Once on the ground, the device, which can hold at least four sensors, uses solar panels to power its onboard electronics and can share sensor data up to 60 meters away.......….. Read more
Company Plans to Dig World's Deepest Hole to Unleash Boundless Energy
The geothermal startup Quaise Energy has raised $63 million in funding to tap Earth’s deep subterranean power.......…..Read more
430 SONGS SURPASSED 1BN VIDEO VIEWS ON TIKTOK IN 2021 – 3 TIMES MORE THAN IN 2020
In December 2020, TikTok reported that over 70 artists that broke on the platform last year signed major label deals......….….Read more
Augmented reality: Is this the future of doctor’s appointments?
In the show, doctors and radiologists work together with digital artists to create 3D representations of patients’ bodies. Then, the patient wears a Microsoft HoloLens to view their limbs and organs, while their doctor explains exactly why and how their condition is affecting them. Paul: The whole experience would be pretty confronting as well as informative...…….Read more
Harvesting Energy From the Air: Metasurface-Based Antenna Turns Ambient Radio Waves Into Electric Power
Researchers have developed a new metasurface-based antenna that represents an important step toward making it practical to harvest energy from radio waves, such as the ones used in cell phone networks or Bluetooth connections. This technology could potentially provide wireless power to sensors, LEDs and other simple devices with low energy requirements......…. Read more
The Magic Leap 2 is Here, With an Interesting Pivot
Paul: These guys have been good on the hype, not so good on delivering. But this is interesting.
AI-Designed Protein Able To Awaken Dormant Genes
By combining CRISPR technology with a protein designed with artificial intelligence, it is possible to awaken individual dormant genes by disabling the chemical “off switches” that silence them. Paul: been doing some research the last couple of weeks on digitisation of biochemistry for some scenarios. There is a lot happening in the space......……. Read more
Business Tips
A bit of a security theme this edition
Why all your IoT devices should be on your guest network
The smart home is a wonderful thing — especially when you can save a few bucks on products that offer the same features as the big guys without the big cost — but it can also be a place ripe for the picking for information thieves looking to make a quick buck off your daily habits..…… Read more
New tool can uncover redacted, pixelated text to reveal sensitive data
Researchers have demonstrated how a new tool can uncover redacted text from documents, potentially exposing sensitive information to nefarious actors.
The tool, called Unredacter, was released by Bishop Fox. To demonstrate that pixilation is “a no-good, bad, insecure, surefire way to get your sensitive data leaked”, it was designed to take redacted pixelized text and reverse it back into its reveal the supposedly hidden “clear text”...……Read more
How to care for your sore hands and wrists when your life is online
We are back to pounding keyboards and swiping phones for another year. But with so much of today’s learning, working and socialising happening via devices, hand and wrist injuries are both common and hard to recover from. Paul: my father was astounded how much I paid for a Logitech MX Master 2S mouse but given how much I use it I think it was a good investment in prevention..…. Read more
Shane Warne's death has many asking: How likely are heart attacks in your 50s? And how can I protect my heart?
Paul: Some good advice here. I had a heart health check a couple of years ago when my best mate had his assessed and ended up having a stent put in a week later...……Read more
Please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested in it and they can subscribe using the button below. Or contact us directly if you want to discuss any of the issues.