There are 5 Macro Trends that will shape the Future. These are:
- The Age of Automation
- The Demise of Driving
- A Re-Think of Retail
- A Printable World
- The Triumph of the Tiny
Which of these Trends do you anticipate will have the biggest impact and state why?
I believe a rethink of retail will have the biggest impact on society. As a large number of people are employed in retail they will become unemployed and require re-training.
I agree Lana, I also choose that area.
I think AI will be incredibly significant as so many employees will have their jobs replaced by AI.
I agree Karen! I feel that the world as we know it will change quite quickly!
Yes it is hard to imagine a world functioning mainly with AI and so many people losing their jobs because of it.
A printable world. Human employment will be affected in every industry.
I agree Belinda! It will definitely have an impact on a many industries
Yes Belinda and Naim I agree! I teach hospitality and commercial cookery and I can’t imagine what will happen to our students when 3D Food Printing becomes mainstream. Scary stuff!
I feel like the real predictors of the future have been authors and screenwriters. Each of the 5 trends felt like a movie or a book, or an episode of Star Trek I’ve already seen. From years ago – shows how long this thinking has been around.
I feel like the demise of driving will be most significant in that as humans we will be able to dedicate more of our “thinking time” to less mundane tasks like hours of driving between 2 white lines, or waiting.
I like your perspective Keri…..seems we are living more and more in peoples imaginations these days. Let’s hope the authors & screenwriters put their energy into dreaming beautiful things.
It is exciting to see the way of the future. I think they will all have a big impact in many ways but in particular and as has been said before to current jobs. With Covid humans had to adapt to change very quickly and rethink the way we do things in a very short timeframe. I think the same will happen as these 5 trends become the norm.
Yes, I agree.
Humans are adaptable and resilient. I think change is inevitable and it will become norm as you say!
Wow, this is rather scary for me, I think about our current society and jobs etc and the impacts this will have. I love the work of the nano technology and think this will have massive influences over health moving to the future. Hoping they are using this technology in some way with COVID19. All will have their own impacts in various ways. Automation is already having a big impact – the jobs of the future are certainly going to change. An interesting presentation.
I found it quite strange, almost like a sci-fi movie
Job will definitely be impacted, eventually human life wont be needed..
Absolutely Donna it is scary. All of these trends will have all different effects changes for better or not…. It almost seems like a movie.
After listening to these 5 Marcro Trends, blows my mind, I feel they will all have a big impact, in their own individual way.
I think the one which will have the biggest impact is the triumph of the tiny. Doctor being able to save someone life’s by entering the body. Something that nothing else can do.
All the other can all be complete by humans now.
Kerry that is the one of chose I agree with what you’ve said and it is something in humanity that we need.
I agree with you Kerrie regarding the triumph of the tiny. The possibilities are endless with this trend. Imagine the skills / knowledge required in the future to implement this technology…..
So many years ago there was an old movie… Fantastic Voyage – yes! I’m that old.! Tiny people injected into a body… Total science fiction, and yet…
What could be achieved by being INSIDE the human body??
I too remembered that movie!!!! I can’t believe we are on the cusp of something that could bring so many benefits – lets hope it is developed in an ethical framework
After listening to all 5 trends, I really cannot decide which one will have the most impact. They will all impact different industries and people’s lives in all sorts of different ways. Overall, it will affect the jobs that we have now which will lead to the type of training that we will all need in the future.
Amanda I worry about people losing there job and the impact it will have on there mental state. We will need to teach the how to cope.
The impact of these trends will be shown in such different ways. The ‘printable world’ I believe will affect the way our economy operates as it will make manufacturing obsolete and nano technology will have such impact on things like health. It’s hard to predict what will see the greatest change to the human race and over what period of time. Exciting and scary at the same time!
I’ve always felt that manufacturing would become obsolete at some point from natural evolution – we’ve always had finite resources with which to create anyway. It’s an industry that has been fraught with issues of human safety, corporate greed and oppression of the masses for a long time. I totally agree with you that it’s so hard to predict! If Bill Gates can’t get it right, then what hope do the rest of us have??
I believe that Automation and in particular Artificial Intelligence is having the biggest impact and will continue to do so. Not only robots to reduce costs in manufacturing or assembling but also in the Intelligence aspect as well. It already touches every part of our lives through our mobile phones and other technology. I have noticed after talking to friends or colleagues about a certain produce or service, that the next time I log into Facebook or Instagram advertisements or information for those products or services pop up in my feed.
Scary isn’t it.
I have noticed the same thing, advertising related to topics of discussion that I haven’t googled.
I think that automation is already having the biggest impact, as it enables the principles of mass production to be customised for smaller and smaller groups in society. In the medical field, it will become more and more important for the replacement of hips and knees in an increasingly obese society. Medical procedures are easily programmed using current technology.
Automation is also being implemented for military applications in increasingly sophisticated ways. It is easy to send a robot with cameras and infrared sensors into high risk areas without risk to the soldiers operating the robots.
I believe the Age of Automation would play a major role in the other four macro trends, ie: driverless cars, drone deliveries, 3D printing and nano technology could all, I suspect, be churned out by robots. Come to think of it, robots will also be crucial in the creation of fellow robots. Brave New World here we come.
As a novice in the field of trends that will have the biggest impact on the world, I believe humans to have the biggest impact, as we create and design the templates for technological change at this particular time – as A.I. continues to evolve.
I think these trends will create a human divide that is so much more significant. People will either accept/embrace or fall behind.
We will have to support and show them the benefit of change. New training program to suit new jobs.
Good point Elizabeth. How we implement, legislate and monitor these changes will be interesting to navigate….
The printable world will change the way we manufacture and repair as it could be in involved with all 5 Macro Trends that will Shape the Future
The printable world seems very exciting and convenient. It will certainly elminate a lot of industry stages.
I think that the Printable World will have the biggest impact as it will make many industries obsolete and allow consumers to be almost entirely self-sufficient.
I agree as the printable world can be implemented into all industries
The age of automation as this inventive trend will cause many people to lose their jobs as they are now. Robots taking over jobs that suit many people in regard to qualifications and experience and even opportunities that they may never had to gain better jobs.
Possibly or we may be printing our own food because the robots too our jobs
So hard to choose as each one will drastically impact how our lives look in the (not so distant) future… the age of automation and the implications it brings, especially in regards to privacy, will be very interesting to watch and it has the power to eliminate so many current jobs… but then, we’ll all need to continue creating and evolving, they say the current generation will likely work in positions that don’t even exist yet. And here I am still unable to get my head around driving in a driverless vehicle eeeek!!!
I agree with you Carinya, lack of jobs and privacy may be the price we pay for the new world
couldn’t agree more.
I think the nano technology will have a bigger impact on the future. It can be used to discover/diagnose many future viruses/unknown diseases and other health related issues. Just imagine if we could use nano technology to fight the COVID virus.
Yes I think this will be fantastic and a marvelous way forward in improving our health and life. It would be great if it were advanced enough to fight Covid virus.
Wouldn’t it be so useful in this situation. The changes to the health system seem endless when you take nano technology into consideration.
I love the idea of nano technology. I think it will save a lot of lives due to accuracy and attention to detail.
I agree Baldev, for me in our current situation, I see this as a positive step forward to alleviate current fears and control future pandemics.
FYI the AI Facebook story the presenter related needs fact checking and simply repeats exaggeration used in news articles about it. Think you will find it was simply stopped because functioning had degenerated rather than was about to take over the world.
Facial recognition can be “beaten” by covering the key features that are used in facial recognition. Thus oversized sunglasses and beards can confuse it, as can burqas. I had the experience of my passport photo being scanned and a photo of my face taken at an airport, and the software said it wasn’t my photo. A human had to override the machine.
Like COVID, the world changed so quickly and is unlikely to return to what we knew as ‘the norm’ only a few months ago. Some people adapt well to change, many find this uncertainty scary and what the possible knock-on effects might be. So these 5 macro trends are even more so, each exciting but scary, especially Artificial Super Intelligence. Obviously not hard for AI to be much smarter than humans!
I agree. We will all need to continue to create and evolve but when the sci-fi movies start to become a very possible reality and there’s the potential to lose control… oh my!
Yes I agree with you comment – sometimes we aren’t prepared for change and we find it very difficult to cope. I think of Maxwell Smart, James Bond and the innovative features that were in their movies and now they are accessible for everyone to use and it doesn’t feel that long ago – yes amazing times ahead.
Yes Brigid, scary stuff, the Jetsons cartoon coming to life
A Printable world – It will take over many industries and we have to create new unknown industries.
Yes, I agree that 3D printing will create many new industries that we possibly haven’t even thought of as possible. Shopping will become a thing of the past as we will be able to print our own consumables.
The demise of driving will have a huge impact in road transport and hopefully road safety.
Will be interesting to see if the driverless car will stop for a kangaroo on dark country roads
So many variables! In many ways it makes sense that they could and should be safer than vehicles driven by humans… and yet the prospect to me is still so daunting! Like everything though, we will adapt! I can’t fathom my children potentially never learning to drive!
Many people will be unable to give up their cars as often a person’s identity is attached to their car.
The Government will loose revenue on traffic infringements
While driverless cars are often the topic of discussion, I think that it is more important to make cars “smarter” so that we have computer-assisted driving. Many cars now have assisted parking. If cars were simply able to force drivers to keep a safe distance from the car in front in a similar fashion, the number of accidents could be reduced by a third. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one-type-of-car-crash-accounts-for-one-third-of-all-accidents-study-20181204-p50k6z.html. Certainly it will be a long time before it would be safe driving from Dubbo to Wilcannia along the Barrier Highway at dusk or night. GPS navigation also has problems with road works, flooded bridges, etc. GPS currently still directs trucks through the Galston gorge in Sydney.
I wonder what it will mean for people who enjoy the driving process or for motorcycle riders…
I’m hoping reduced cars on the road, sharing driverless cars, is going to help us reduce emissions – if we aren’t able to address climate change we won’t have a future for many of the innovations previewed in the videos.
Is it ironic that when we make a post we have to make a ‘declaration’ that we are not a robot? Surely there is AI technology that can identify these and click on our behalf – perhaps impersonating our details that we have done so…
I think the nano-technolgoy has the biggest potential to impact from a health perspective (eg. diagnosis of health conditions). This will no doubt be linked to the printable world in regards to repair / reconstruction of organs etc. Very hard to say which one of these 5 trends will have a bigger impact than another. I tend to gravitate towards the health aspects as that is an area of our lives that I find fascinating.
Maybe nano-technology could be used to fight COVID and similar medical problems!
Hi Andrew, I think nano technology should have a biggest impact on out future well-being. Just think if we could have used this technology to handle COVID virus. We could have saved thousands of lives.
I think this area provides hope for those impacted with disease such as cancer. I wonder if research to find a covid vaccine is using nano technology.
I agree with my boss :)Tha Age of Automation is behind everything so it is having the biggest impact.
Automation is the basis of all the changes that have been outlined so I agree with you
Agree, automation appears to be the foundation or driving force behind rapid change.
The triumph of the tiny because this will save precious resources as population grows
I likes the medical use of this technology, if something can starve a cancer I would invest in it.
All will have an impact however the Age of Automation seems to be the driver. Perhaps the conspiracy theorists will be proven right. Will we know who or what we are dealing with? It is unlikely and the implications are mind blowing.
Yes Karen it is scary to think that computers will be smarter than us and perhaps in control of us.
The way the technology is improving computers are getting as smart as individuals
The terminator is on its way!
Any one watch any of the iterations of Battlestar Gallactica? Machines wiping out human race. First version in 1978.
I see the Age of Automation will have the greatest impact given that many jobs will be undertaken with the use of AI. The obvious implications being that workforce make up will change significantly and the way educators prepare people for jobs will need to change. The change to work / life balance may be a positive outcome of this change.
Yes Brad we may be out of work! I imagine our work profiles will change to match new services that will be needed.
No we will never be out of work, however our work will change extensively.
As teachers, living in the world of Covid-19 demonstrates how adaptive humans can be in order to find different ways of doing different things.
BYOD
I’ve scrolled through quite a number of these posts and can’t see any references to the environmental impacts – either positively or negatively- seems people are far more focussed on the economic and social changes. An observation rather than a criticism.
Yes Andrew, is the environmental impact being taken into consideration with these changes? I hope so!
Yes. As a teacher I have seen the impact on education delivery but also the inequality as not all families are able to support delivery of online education. Still need a physical space to provide support. Can be isolating and we are seeing the mental health consequences of isolation at present.
The Age of Automation lays the foundation for how each other trend will impact . What happens with cars, retail, manufacturing and our medical world is dependent on both the speed and extent of how we shift from one level to the next within the Age of Automation.
The impact of these changes will also effect people from different socio-economic backgrounds at different rates. The divide between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ may become more significant. Access to technology will be a key determinant of success.
All will have an impact in some way especially looking at the effects on retail, manufacturing and careers/jobs for the students we are teaching. What will the future of jobs look like?
What will the retail sector look like?
We have seen due to COVID restrictions the impact of online sales and ordering of food online and what has happened to unemployment world wide, It concerns me to think this may become the new norm for shopping/ ordering food/Manufacturing.
I was fascinated by the drone delivery aspect with flying warehouses, this certainly seems like the original Jetson TV series becoming our new reality.
Yes, it seems that the future will bring a shift in the types of jobs people will be employed in. This makes me ponder if the school curriculum will see a huge shift in the subjects and topics being taught so to adapt to this future job force.
All 5 Macro Trends will have a huge impact on our future and I believe the Demise of Driving will be have the biggest impact. Driverless cars, trucks and trains will make a big difference to life and it worries me about employment rates. However, It astounds me to think about how students I teach and my own children will live in a very different world to us. Exciting yet scary all at the same time!
Yes I agree, scary and exciting all at the same time
Hi Alyssa, i also think all these and other upcoming trends will have a significant impact on our lives mostly for the better.
I believe that all five trends will contribute and impact the way we live and relate within society as we know it today. Driverless cars meaning that people never experiencing driving and tiny technology allowing medical breakthroughs.
I think that all 5 will have an impact on the way that we operate and interact with each other. The most exciting for me is the Triumph of the Tiny, particularly the medical implications for people who are ill.
A worrying aspect is the implications that some will have on unemployment figures around the world.
Yes, very true.
I think that the Macro Trend that will have the biggest impact is the Age of Automation. The demise of driving, a re-think of retail and the triumph of tiny all include elements of automation.
Yes very true Ashley, can not quite get my head around the idea of driverless cars though!!!
Totally agree. Our understanding of how AI impacts on our economies as a whole will have the biggest impact on what our economic world looks like into the future. This in itself has significant implications for how our societies look and function.
I believe that The Age of Automation is an area that will continue to have a huge impact on our daily lives. We know that we are already seeing this area impact our lives in many ways and I believe it will only expand. Most people possess a smartphone that is already capturing information about their lives and responding even when we don’t ask it to! Many of us have been dumbfounded that after a conversation about a particular topic, we are suddenly receiving advertising and offers without having to enter anything into a search engine or similar!
Hi Matthew the smart phone has the potential to act as a leveler in how students from lower socio – economic backgrounds access technology and as a result continues to enable them to take part in where the technological world takes us. For many it won’t be the ability to use English at a level to produce a structured essay but rather the skill and capacity to use the likes of smartphones in a way they can have an understanding of the changing world of Automation.
Siri and friends seem to be listening to our conversations – I’ve had this experience too. What worries me is the advertising offers I receive after only thinking about a product – is AI already sowing the seeds of thought subliminally as we check our smartphones?
I think the TRIUMPH of the TINY as it will have a huge impact on Global Health
This is so true now and in the future. With such technologies, the human life span will continue to expand, meaning there will be more humans on the earth for longer.
I think the TRIUMPH of the TINY as it will have a huge impact on global health.
The Triumph of the Tiny because this will help decrease our global health bill. I also think the Age of Automation will see unemployment rise.
The Triumph of the tiny will have the biggest impact as it can be applied across so many industries
Advances in medical technologies have had massive impacts on the ability of society to improve. This Triumph of the Tiny is a really exciting change.
Interesting that the manual and variable jobs are considered safe. Will that in turn mean they are financially better?
Hi Sarah, I think that the higher the level of skill involved would be linked to higher pay etc. Also it might depend on a person’s ability to complete many manual jobs flexibly rather than the same task over and over again in order to keep up with the advancements.
I think the Printable world will have the greatest impact on society. It will have a huge impact on employment and industries, including retail, wholesale, manufacturing and design. This will limit the job opportunities in this area.
Sarah I think the Printable World also has the possibility to shrink our world, limiting the need to interact or explore as we can bring so much of it within reach with new technology. Could be a mental health issue for many.
I agree with Karen. I think a few of these “World of Tomorrow” trends will push us even further into our own socially isolated bubbles. So, for example, no need to venture out of our homes and mingle with others in shops. And, yes, I know that makes me sound like an old Luddite.
Like so many changes there may be limited job opportunities in one area but open up other opportunities that as yet we can’t even imagine.
the re-think of the retail world is most likely to have an impact on our youth as they will lose the opportunity to gain employment experience. The skill set that is currently required, however will change. The increased focus on problem solving and human connection skills will be massive.
I agree Bianca. Not only employment experience but skills in working with others, taking direction, manual labour skills. While the jobs may look different and mechanisation will take over some aspects the principle behind the skills will always be required
While the changes to retail will be accessed/used by the largest number of people I think the greatest impact on society will be the application of technology to improve the world – printing medical components, accessing nano technologies to cure, repair and increase both the quality of life and longevity of the individual.
I couldn’t agree more, Raylene. It’s very exciting to think of the advancements that will come from this kind of technology. To be able to improve the quality of life for people with less invasive and more targeted treatments for health issues will be a huge improvement and potentially accessible by more people around the world.
I think the technology in terms of medical advances is very exciting. In terms of retail and building, I feel that these inventions are happening because people wonder if they can, or wanting to make money. I wonder if they thought about whether they should.
I don’t know which trend is going to advance quickest, but I’m seeing lots of people without work, and the divide between rich and poor getting greater. There are people in our society who aren’t academic. If shelves are being stacked by robots and deliveries by robots and all hands on jobs being done by robots, what jobs will be left for these people? How will they earn their money? No one seems to be thinking about what happens to the bulk of unemployed. Maybe these people will become slaves who have to use a treadmill to generate the electricity to run all these machines. Have we thought about all the resources that will have to be dug up in order to build all these devices?
Naomi, yes I hear what you are saying for ‘whether we should’. Particularly around AI interacting and forming its own language that we don’t understand or can control.
I believe they will all benefit our society greatly and in very exciting ways. We have already seen printable respirators during the pandemic. However, I see Triumph of the Tiny will benefit the health in an amazing way, fighting cancers etc for all ages, saving money on much medical research and treatment and progressing forward with a healthier population.
I agree totally, Triumph of the Tiny will benefit the health and welfare of individuals increasingly and improve quality of life and longevity of the individual more frequently and in more varied ways as time goes by.
The idea of being able to have internal robotic nano-tech that resolves health issues is really exciting. How many people can this improve the quality of life for? As long as the technology is affordable for the people, not just the super wealthy, it has the potential to hugely increase the health of our society.
The changes in driverless cars is going to be huge game changer. The idea of not being in control and relying on a computer to make life changing decisions is mind blowing. I have difficulty in riding in driverless trains.
I wonder whether there will be a medical advancement in car sickness, then I will be happy to be a passenger.
You can already see the start of driver less cars – assisted parking which is available in some car models. I am not sure how I feel about driver less cars, I like being in control while travelling and already hate being a passenger. I think this would take a lot of getting used to for me.
Certainly will change the laws covering drivers and third party damage.
Does this mean that i will no longer need to have a Driver’s licence? My mum can keep her driverless car forever. Taxis will be a thing of the past?
Not having to worry about parking in a busy city again will be a bonus…..send the car home or to pick up someone else while you’re at work. No worries about who the ‘designated driver’ is anymore, everyone’s a passenger!
The benefits of not having congestion in major cities and possible less pollution is interesting.
I’ve seen some concern raised re: driverless cars where potentially a computer’s AI might have to make a decision between who lives and dies eg. in an unavoidable crash situation. A computer determining the relative value of human ‘life’ concerns me substantially.
A rethink of retailing will probably have the widest impact on society as it appears readily accessible to all. To not line up at Aldi or Coles sounds amazing, and great for social distancing 🙂
I’m concerned i have to tick the “I’m not a robot” each time haha.
Sign me up! I love the idea of being able to walk in and walk out of the store without having to line up! I think a lot of people will have issues with privacy and ticking the ‘I’m not a robot’ each time. I am not sure people are ready for the change
How will we find out what’s going on in the world if we don’t get to chat in line at the supermarket Nig? Almost feel like online shopping with home delivery has already superseded the walk in / walk out retail experience.
My first thought about the most impactful macro trend was the possibility of a printable world, more specifically the possibility to print food. This could negate famine and the possibility of an international food shortage that faces humanity as our population continues to burgeon.
Or, of course AI, I’ve seen terminator…
This is also a means to give the homeless safety and dignity.
I was impressed by the ability to print homes and buildings. The opportunity to eliminate homelessness across the worlds cities, is fabulous. There would also be an impact on social cost as people with safe housing are less likely to end up incarcerated or ill and hospitalised.
The idea of printable food is the thing I REALLY can’t get my head around. I mean, I can understand the concept of an inanimate building material being printed out but … how do you even begin in print an edible apple pie? That’s not even something I think The Jetson’s grappled with.
But have you seen Star Trek? They’ve been using food replicators since the 1960s….
The demise of the car industry reminds me of all those sci-fi tv shows where the cars try to kill us. Like, it’s happened in Doctor Who at least 8 times…
I’m thinking if I would trade my life for more naps… The answer is yes. Nap me up Scotty. Naps for life.
We will be in driverless cars before we know it – interesting for out students and their new skills sets
The demise of driving. Watching the uber business model spread throughout the world and change the taxi industry. This has nothing on what automation will bring very soon to our world of transport and how we and goods move between places. From a view point of safety, and 24 hr availability in the logistics movement on our roads. When the technology, rigorously tested as it has been, develops, I think that the general public will be quick to use and support automation. Especially when the statistics of fatalities on our roads fall due to the increase of automated vehicles. In-turn this will be a total redesign and implementation of the skills needed to participate in transport both on the ground and in the air.
I absolutely agree David. I think the roads will be a safer place. There would be a huge loss of jobs when we think of trucks, buses, trains, cars, taxis etc.
But don’t you think that other jobs will take their place? They will be jobs that don’t yet exist; that we haven’t even thought of yet!
We have to get past the thinking about employment like our parents did. I’m nearly 50 and have had 4 careers and countless jobs. My dad had 2 careers. His dad had one career and one job all his life. As a society we have already had to accept that employment is not what it was and therefore will evolve and change even faster. I think my kids will just do whatever work makes them happy and enables them to enjoy a reasonable lifestyle – who know what that will look like?