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Robots! Are Rosie, Voltron, Bender and their kin finally coming into their own?
For decades (if not centuries), futurists, writers and inventors have promised that robotic help—mechanized beings ready to serve as soldiers, maids, chauffeurs—is just on the horizon. In 1988 pundits predicted “convenience robots” would … -
The Coming Dementia Epidemic
Demographics are among the most stable of trends. Absent a change in immigration laws or a fatal pandemic, we can forecast the composition of the US population with a pretty high degree of accuracy. Working out the consequences of those … -
Synesthesia: Multisensory experiences for a multisensory world
Remember when you looked at a painting, listened to music, tasted your food, smelled perfume and touched a (real, physical) object? The rich messiness of the five human senses has always been hard to record in tangible media, but now, … -
Privacy in a Watchful World: What have you got to hide?
In a world where companies and governments can, and increasingly do, track vast amounts of personal information about our habits, preferences, behavior, communications and even our thoughts, where will we draw the line? People evidently … -
What’s Mine Is Yours: The economy of collaborative consumption
Nature abhors a vacuum, and both environmentalists and capitalists hate waste. That empty room in your house—why not rent it out? You only drive your car on weekends—why leave it sitting at the curb the rest of the week? You have a couple … -
For Profit for Good: The rise of the social entrepreneurs
For years, well-meaning critics have been telling nonprofits to act more like businesses: to do a better job marketing, to innovate, to develop a strong brand identity. It’s ven been suggested that nonprofits sometimes use their … -
Hot, New Trends Deliberated in Wine Country
I hope you’ve had a chance to delve into TrendsWatch 2014 (now available as a free app, with embedded videos!) and are using the report to fuel discussions inside and outside your organization. This week’s blog post is by … -
Monday Musing: who’s minding the kids?
This week’s Musing is about an article features in Dispatches from the future of Museums last week: “Gates’ $100M Philanthropic Venture inBloom Dies after Parents Say “No Way” (Nonprofit Quarterly). It’s about the demise … -
Futurist Friday: Past Visions of Future Highways
It is fun, and instructive, to revisit the future as envisioned by past visionaries–in this case, Disney. This [8:47] min short from 1958 envisions color-coded highways that defrost themselves, parking elevators and self-driving cars … -
Revisiting the Dangers of “Small Good Things”
This past Monday, in my musing, I mentioned Kanu Hawaii–a nonprofit that recruits people to take actions that support “sustainable island living.” They are so good at what they do I signed up as a member–even though …
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