Services 2020

There is a crisis of meaning in the world of business, especially for millenials.  They're asking the question, "Why am I doing this?"  And I think businesses are not providing great answers to those questions, and I think that's why you're getting more and more talented millenials picking a career that is non-business or quasi-business in part for foundation or some NGO.  And I think it's partially tied into this whole shareholder value maximization theory.

Smart mobs emerge when communication and computing technologies amplify human talents for cooperation. The impacts of smart mob technology already appear to be both beneficial and destructive, used by some of its earliest adopters to support democracy and by others to coordinate terrorist attacks. The technologies that are beginning to make smart mobs possible are mobile communication devices and pervasive computing - inexpensive microprocessors embedded in everyday objects and environments. Already, governments have fallen, youth subcultures have blossomed from Asia to Scandinavia, new industries have been born and older industries have launched furious counterattacks.

What will the world be like when personal, custom satellites -- or "cubesats" -- are as cheap and easy to launch as websites are today? Help us uncover ideas about the future of science and technology at the Signtific Lab -- launching February 18, 2009. Brought to you by the Institute for the Future. To get updates when Experiment #1: Free Space launches, pre-register now at lab.signtific.org

Something immense is happening as the world transitions to a hyperconnected state where, for many, the distinction between the real and virtual worlds has ceased to exist. All the trailing paraphernalia of states and borders and government-to-government palavers, not to mention privacy laws, look so 20th century.

Outsights is a strategic futures consultancy helping clients to anticipate, interpret and act upon important developments in the external world....and they have a pretty web site..

The futurist Herman Khan introduced the idea of "thinking the unthinkable" as a way to loosen up the imagination in trying to forecast the future. Most time we are unable to guess the future because we are inhibited by conventional wisdom - something that everyone knows is true. For instance everyone (including me) knew that an encyclopedia written by amateurs that could be changed by anyone at anytime was simply a silly, impossible idea. That prevented anyone from forecasting wikipedia. Herman Khan stressed that we should assume what we know is wrong and begin to imagine how the unthinkable might happen.

As he approaches the end of his tenure as president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Björn Stigson says China is embracing the green economy and leaving the West behind

In computing, ambient intelligence (AmI) refers to electronic environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people. Ambient intelligence is a vision on the future of consumer electronics, telecommunications and computing that was originally developed in the late 1990s for the time frame 2010-2020. In an ambient intelligence world, devices work in concert to support people in carrying out their everyday life activities, tasks and rituals in easy, natural way using information and intelligence that is hidden in the network connecting these devices (see Internet of Things). As these devices grow smaller, more connected and more integrated into our environment, the technology disappears into our surroundings until only the user interface remains perceivable by users.

Iceland's Crowdsourced Constitution - A Lesson in Open Source Marketing

"Maarten Lens-FitzGerald got in touch recently to let us know that someone had created a layer within the Layar augmented reality platform that geo-tags a film shown by Rick Prelinger at his annual Lost Landscapes of San Francisco event."

This paper highlights how investing in a robust, reliable and high speed communications network could have significant economic, environmental and social benefits. It can help change the way we live, work and play so that we decrease the environmental impact and not our quality of life.

"The tenth symposium of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) focuses on the way socio-cultural research addresses complex problems and opportunities in Australia, the Asian region, and globally."

"Based on the current situation we have projected changes in the sea level 500 years into the future," says Aslak Grinsted, a researcher at the Centre for Ice and Climate, the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen. His group forms part of a team that has calculated the long-term outlook for rising sea levels in relations to the emission of greenhouse gases and pollution of the atmosphere.

Who will own the brains of smart cities--citizens or corporations? At stake is an impending massive trove of data, not to mention issues of privacy, services, and inclusion. The battle may be fought in the streets between bands of Jane Jacobs-inspired hacktivists pushing for self-serve governance and a latter-day Robert Moses carving out monopolies for IBM or Cisco instead of the Triborough Bridge Authority. Without a delicate balance between the scale of big companies and the DIY spirit of "gov 2.0" champions, the urban poor could be the biggest losers. Achieving that balance falls to smarter cities' mayors, who must keep the tech heavyweights in check and "frame an agenda of openness, transparency and inclusivness."

BEIJING: The first India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) being held here has achieved positive results, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said.

This is the environmental documentary of the year (2010) a must see... and major wake-up call for the world. Josh Fox is my new hero!.......... "It is happening all across America-rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property... See full summary » "

Watched it the other night. Very depressing...and it's here in Australia too... http://theconversation.edu.au/switching-to-coal-seam-gas-could-drastically-reduce-emissions-so-whats-the-fraccing-problem-16 http://theconversation.edu.au/what-the-frack-is-going-on-with-coal-seam-gas-1507 g

"FOUR DEGREES OR MORE? Australia in a Hot World explores the unintended consequences of current domestic and international climate policies. It invites us to imagine the social, economic and ecological implications of catastrophic global warming for Australia and its region."

"ZGF Architects and PoSI teamed up to provide a concept submission for the International Living Future Institute's 2011 Living City Design Competition which has been recently awarded a People's Choice Award voted by the attendees of the Living Future 2011 conference. Their submission entitled Symbiotic Districts: Towards a Balanced City explores the symbiosis between five EcoDistricts in Portland, Oregon as well as regional systems and examines how strategies in a single district contribute to the city's overall performance. "

"Here is our invitation to the storytellers of the world: Make a short film that Inspires us. Moves us. Gives us something to believe in. Envision a new, positive, possible future for the world. One that is environmentally sustainable, socially just, peaceful and spiritually fulfilling. The film contest includes awards valuing $30,000 that will be announced in July. Films can be 1 to 5 minutes in length, and must be submitted by June 21st."

About the iKNOW projectiKNOW is a new blue sky research and horizon scanning project launched by the European Commission and led by Rafael Popper of the University of Manchester and the participation of seven other partners (FFRC, Z_punkt, TC AS, RTC, ICTAF, Cyber Fox and Mindcom). iKNOW aims to advance knowledge and tools related to events and developments (e.g. wild cards and weak signals) potentially shaping and shaking the future of science, technology and innovation (STI).