The ruckus over the Kinder Morgan project is a good reminder that the economic conditions we once enjoyed are on the way out
While the opinion writers and politicians are venting about expanding the Kinder Morgan pipeline for diluted bitumen to the West Coast, it might help to consider some history. We didn’t arrive at this shout-fest without making diverse tracks from previous experiences, and most of us are old enough to think back over a few previous…
Almost every new and disruptive technology arrives with a fanbase claiming it will revolutionize life on Earth. Artificial intelligence is no different
The tech worker is on the front lines of a major breakthrough in work productivity and business performance: artificial intelligence (AI). The role of AI in the future of almost every industry is practically a given. Business and technology analysts the world over have agreed that AI will have an impact across all industries. For…
How the next wave of disruptive technologies will change our notions of ‘normal’
If we could time travel five, 15, or 20 years into the future, what would we see? It doesn’t take a team of futurists to imagine a continuing evolution of intelligent, robotic, connected, digital, and social technology innovations persisting for decades to come. Automated, smart, digitised, and autonomous are some of the design qualities likely…
Future factors and potential disruptions that could have a truly transformative impact on life, society, government, the economy, and business
The world is becoming increasingly aware that there is no such thing as ‘normal’ any more. Some say this near immunity to large scale shocks started with the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, Donald Trump’s election as U.S. President, and the revelations about fake news on social media influencing voters and elections around…
A computer that can think and reason like a person would have an enormous impact on every aspect of our world
Playing good games should be a test of intelligence. Planning, strategizing, and learning moves and counter moves are all gaming skills we associate with complex human thinking. DeepMind’s Alpha Zero AI system offers a significant breakthrough in this field. The impact of its generalized game learning system will be substantial. Although many people claim that…
The next decade will see unprecedented changes in the workforce. Jobs will vanish and new jobs won’t at all resemble those they replace
We need to start preparing for a jobless future, in which only a small number of people use machines to manage all work. Machines are taking over jobs at an accelerating pace. Society is beginning to feel the impact of massive automation. Most troubling? The kinds of jobs that machines will take over: all of them.…
The self-play, self-training concept of the AlphaGo Zero software provides a glimpse into the future of artificial intelligence
The self-play, self-training concept of the AlphaGo Zero software provides a glimpse into the future of self-defining artificial intelligence (AI) systems. So how and when will AI exceed human capacity? While some believe that the processing power already exists to achieve this, the software that would function at this level has not yet been invented.…
Artificial intelligence is being tailored to tackle critical-thinking jobs. The next step for humans is to focus on tacit skills that machines don't yet have
If machines can think critically, where will university-educated students go? As an educator who is passionate about student professional development, I’m concerned about how artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to steal many of the remaining jobs available for university-educated students. I’ve written previously about job shortages in academia and medicine and how students must turn to…
The effects of artificial intelligence and the rise of the digital world will force us to rethink how we produce, process and distribute food
Governments jumping on the $15-an-hour bandwagon are missing an opportunity to look at how the next technological revolution will affect our food systems. And that’s a shame. The minimum wage is rising in many parts of the country. Recently, Ontario announced it would raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, to match Alberta. In…
With AI, yields can be improved and grocers can understand consumers – and predict their behaviour – better than consumers know themselves
Many Canadian consumers have noticed that lettuce and celery prices have skyrocketed recently. Such fluctuations happen all the time. But artificial intelligence is about to change that. AI has us on the cusp of a revolution in how we make decisions and how we manage virtually every aspect of our daily lives. The agrifood sector is not immune. Cognitive…
While the opinion writers and politicians are venting about expanding the Kinder Morgan pipeline for diluted bitumen to the West Coast, it might help to consider some history. We didn’t arrive at this shout-fest without making diverse tracks from previous experiences, and most of us are old enough to think back over a few previous…
