Greetings!
I hope you are well, safe and healthy — things here in Switzerland stores, museums, and zoos open their doors once again to a shopping-and-enjoyment starved population. On my end, I am itching to get out and in-front of a real audience again (and quite a few have been booked already:) — but then again, I also really enjoy my ‘Keynote Television’ shows as well, and I think this will continue to be very much in-demand as we are heading into a hybrid digital/physical world. As I like to say ‘Zoom is great but hugs are greater’.
There is much discussion here on how things will play out as vaccine distribution lags projections, the weather warms, and many, such as the gastro-industry, clamour for a more rapid reopening.
Either way, things are changing rapidly as we rush forward into the future — hopefully with a bit more foresight. If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that ‘business as usual’ is no more, and that we must get used to a constant ebb and flow of ‘new normals’- which is why I will continue to roll-out my What to Expect for 2021 series on Youtube and Vimeo. Remember, as always, I love to hear your thoughts.
Below are some of the best things I’ve found and been reading over the past week. Enjoy, stay safe, and feel free to ping me anytime if you need something.
Greetings from a surprisingly busy Zurich
Beyond Covid: What to Expect for 2021 and Beyond” (new video series)
2020 was a disruptive and massively confusing year for everyone, personally, and for every business and every organization, as well. 2021 will see a rebound of a sort — but we are not going back to ‘normal’, ever. Here’s what to expect. Exclusively for you, the whole thing is now also available on Youtube!
What to expect for 2021: New Podcasts / Playlist
Also on Spotify
Will Governments Continue to Enforce Emergency Regulations, Tracking and Surveillance #postcorona
In some countries, there is a danger that the emergency regulations and restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will become the new normal — for instance tracking and surveillance via mobile applications, or monitoring people’s behaviour and compliance with drones…
Examining the connection between Covid-19 and Inequality
There have been major differences in the how governments around the world have reacted to the Corona crisis — to say the least. But generally I would say that whatever was not so good before, got worse, and whatever was good before got even better. Covid19 brought out the best in us — and the worst.
..more on this via my blog
According to The Huffington Post, the richest 62 people on the planet now have amassed more wealth than 50% of the world’s entire population. The key question is whether continued exponential technological progress will exacerbate this worrisome trend, or whether it will somehow address it.
8 challenges for business leaders that will shape year 2 of COVID-19
As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the intersection of the ongoing economic crisis, the continuing pandemic, the social justice movement, and increasing inequality are just the short list of what leaders need to acknowledge, manage — and help to solve.
» Cool gifs showing the incredible power of GPT3: pretty amazing AI-generated images
…. I think I found it on Twitter. Read more news on GPT3 via Gerdfeed.
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2021 | MIT Technology Review
Messenger RNA also holds great promise as the basis for cheap gene fixes to sickle-cell disease and HIV. Also in the works: using mRNA to help the body fight off cancers. 5* Must-Read
Artificial Intelligence And The End Of Work
“Stanford is hosting an event next month named “Intelligence Augmentation: AI Empowering People to Solve Global Challenges.” This title is telling and typical. The notion that, at its best, AI will augment rather than replace humans has become a pervasive and influential narrative in the field of artificial intelligence today… So how true will this be: “When looms weave by themselves, man’s slavery will end.” — Aristotle, 4th century BC
The A.I. behind DeepMind’s Go breakthrough is finding it way to the factory floor | Fortune
Better simulators are helping companies to use deep reinforcement learning to improve operations. Sometimes the results are surprising.
Regulating big tech: the EU’s Digital Markets Act
The DMA takes a diametrically opposite approach to antitrust enforcement (which is currently the United States’ favoured approach). It is an ex-ante set of rules that constrains operators before any bad behaviour can materialise, as opposed to antitrust which kicks in after an infringement (ex-post).
RELATED: Join me for this online event on March 10: European Perceptions about Covid-19: Lessons from the Infodemic: Future of Media/Technology
This keynote will feature some new stuff I am working on
The sovereign state of Facebook vs. the world — Axios
Hillary Clinton likened dealing with Facebook to “negotiating with a foreign power” last year in The Atlantic.
If Big Tech has the will, here are ways research shows self-regulation can work
Deprioritizing engagement in content recommendations should lessen the “rabbit hole” effect of social media, where people look at post after post, video after video.
Tech competition — The rules of the tech game are changing | Leaders | The Economist
The idea of the technology industry being dominated by monopolies is so widely held that it has monopolised much thinking, from investors’ strategies to antitrust watchdogs’ legal briefs. Yet, it is getting harder to sustain. Here’s why.
Research Reveals The #1 Life Skill That Schools Surprisingly Don’t Teach | by Michael Simmons
“The most important skill anybody can learn is the ability to learn rare and useful skills on-demand.”
Fast-food drive-thrus are getting smarter. Here’s how — CNN
You might be ordering your next Big Mac from an Alexa-like AI — the inside scoop on fast-foods’ automation roll-out.
I’ll Be Presenting at CiCan’s Changing Narratives Virtual Conference April 26–28 — Register Today!
Join me April 26–28th at the Changing Narratives event to reflect on how the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced post-secondary institutions to dramatically change the way they operated — from the classroom to the boardroom — not only “how” we teach and learn, but also, “what” we teach.
PS. Are you struggling with loneliness and isolation during these incredibly difficult times? If you are, here’s one thing I’ve learned:
While we can find a kind of hedonic happiness in/with technology… “Technology is very good at giving us what we want, and not so good at giving us what we need.”
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