What's Emerging Mid-November 2022
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy
Welcome to our mid- November newsletter.
In the next few weeks, Paul will be continuing work with Save the Children on their strategic planning and commencing a project with the RSL on thinking about the future. He also continues to participate in a global research project led by Simon Wardley from the UK and is continuing a year-long foresight advisory role with Vision Australia. He will also be presenting to the CEO Institute Future CEOs Group on De-Risking Global Supply Chains as well as two other CEO Institute groups on Foresight for Practical Strategy. He has also taken over as Chair of Social Venture Partners Melbourne, the venture philanthropy group he has been a partner at for the last 8 years at the same time as working with 100 Story Building on their social enterprise strategy.
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 to unlock the best Qantas seats using the ‘T-80’ rule
19% of readers opened this one in the last two editions so we figured we would post it again edition.....…. Read more
What are we Writing About?
Paul has written two related posts on LinkedIn about forecasting and future thinking.
You can access them HERE and HERE
What’s Emerging
Unpiloted military helicopter flies 134 km in simulated mission
A retrofitted Black Hawk helicopter flew autonomously between mountains to deliver blood supplies in a simulated mission. It also picked up a simulated medical casualty
COVID-19 activates similar response to Parkinson's disease, study suggests
Lead researcher Trent Woodruff, from the university's neuro-inflammation laboratory, said the findings illustrated a potential future risk for neurodegenerative conditions in people who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. But he said it was too early for the study to cause alarm, with much more work needed into how the virus may affect the human brain...... Read More
INTERPOL launches first global police Metaverse
Fully operational, the INTERPOL Metaverse allows registered users to tour a virtual facsimile of the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France without any geographical or physical boundaries, interact with other officers via their avatars, and even take immersive training courses in forensic investigation and other policing capabilities......……. Read more
China's EV startups defy funding slump with US$6 billion of deals
China's electric vehicle startups are defying the venture capital winter. While the country is leading a global contraction in VC investment, its auto sector has taken the top spot for funding so far this year, with more than 147 deals...……read more
Google’s new prototype AI tool does the writing for you
What makes Wordcraft a bit different is that it’s framed as a means to help create fictional work. Google describes it as a sort of “text editor with purpose” built into a web-based word processor. Users can prompt Wordcraft to rewrite phrases or direct it to make a sentence funnier. It can also describe objects if asked or generate prompts. In a nutshell, it’s sort of like wrapping an editor and writing partner into a single AI tool...…..Read more
Tiger sharks with cameras on their backs map 'world's biggest' seagrass meadow in Bahamas
“We also leverage seafloor assessments and movement data obtained from instrument-equipped tiger sharks, which have strong fidelity to seagrass ecosystems, to augment and further validate predictions”.......…..Read more
Blackbird’s latest $1B AUD fund signals maturation of Australian, New Zealand venture scene
The Australian and New Zealand startup community will see a boost in funding this year. Blackbird, a VC fund based in the two south Pacific countries, on Wednesday closed a fund at over AUD $1 billion (about USD $640 million), which the firm says is Australia’s largest fund to date...........….. Read more
More Americans are getting news on TikTok, bucking the trend on other social media sites
A small but growing share of U.S. adults say they regularly get news on TikTok. This is in contrast with many other social media sites, where news consumption has either declined or stayed about the same in recent years....…. Read more
YouTube mega-star MrBeast seeks 10-figure valuation
MrBeast, the YouTube star turned entrepreneur, is looking to raise around $150 million for his business at a roughly $1.5 billion valuation, three sources familiar with the conversations.......…..Read more
New Gaming Technology Enables Smelling in VR
A collaboration between Stockholm University and Malmö University has led to the creation of a new technology that makes it possible to smell in a virtual reality (VR) environment. The new machine, called an olfactometer, can be printed on 3D printers.............….. Read more
France to require all large parking lots to be covered by solar panels
In France, solar just got a huge boost from new legislation approved through the Senate this week that will require all parking lots with spaces for at least 80 vehicles – both existing and new – to be covered by solar panels.
The new provisions are part of French president Emmanuel Macron’s large-scale plan to heavily invest in renewables, which aims to multiply by 10 the amount of solar energy produced in the country, and to double the power from land-based wind farms. ....….….Read more
Patients receive transfusion of laboratory-grown blood in world-first clinical trial
As part of the University of Bristol trial, volunteers received manufactured blood cells that were grown from stem cells from a blood donor.......…… Read More
“Unexpected” – Scientists Discover an Anti-Aging Mechanism
A multinational team headed by University College London scientists has discovered a new mechanism that slows down and maybe even prevents the normal aging of immune cells, one of the nine “hallmarks of aging.”
The discovery in-vitro (cells) and validated in mice was “unexpected,” according to the researchers, who believe harnessing the mechanism might extend the life of the immune system, enabling people to live healthier and longer lives, and would also have therapeutic use for diseases such as cancer and dementia. Their findings were recently published in the journal Nature Cell Biology..........…. Read more
Business Tips
How to delete your Twitter account (and protect your data)
Paul: At this stage I do not intend to quit Twitter but if you are then this is a good guide. I have downloaded my archive though because who knows what is going to happen...…… Read more
Who Makes the Decision?
Paul: a great piece by my friend Stowe Boyd on decision making. I particularly like the consensus/consent discussion.……Read more
Not sure about retiring?Maybe you should try ‘pretirement’
What do Serena Williams, Trevor Noah, and Dr. Anthony Fauci have in common? They all decided to “retire” from successful careers. Another thing they have in common? They’re not ready to hang it up just yet. Each one is pursuing their next chapter, including the 81-year-old Fauci. That next chapter can be called “pretirement,” a transitional life stage between work and retirement. ....…. Read more
Starlink is now coming to your in-motion vehicle
Starlink is accepting orders on its website for its new Flat High-Performance Starlink -- the satellite dish designed for in-motion vehicles such as RVs. Starlink, the broadband division of Elon Musk's company SpaceX, will begin delivering the new hardware in December 2022. With the new antenna, consumers will be able to take advantage of enhanced GPS capabilities in addition to high-speed, low-latency internet while their vehicle is actively moving. ……..Read more
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