The future of work: staying on the positive side of technology

The long-term effects of the Covid-19 crisis are still mainly in the dark, but it is already clear that our experiences with remote work will shape the future of work going forward. Our increased use of technology already leads to cleaner air and lower CO2 emissions, improves work-life balances, and increases collaboration. Technology has always paved the way for a better future. We created it to benefit us. But its use requires cautious decisions that balance the positive and negative…

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The 4th industrial revolution is a dangerous myth

The fourth Industrial Revolution has not started yet. We are still in the Integration Phase of the Third Industrial Revolution. Not recognising this may mislead and prevent us from understanding the true nature and potential about what is happening at the moment. The false start into the 4th industrial revolution The possibilities and automation potential of the technologies currently at our hand, including AI, IoT, and robotics are astounding. There are so astounding that some suspect the beginning of a…

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More predictions for a Post-Corona World

This article is inspired by Emma Rose Bienvenu’s article 7 Predictions for a Post-Coronavirus World Futurism is a discussion that thrives on openness, diversity, inspiration, and productive dissent. Let’s discuss this. As much as we feel that Covid-19 is a life-changing experience, the world we grew up in still exists and works. The recent developments may not be permanent. A data point does not make a trend. You need at least two. But in turbulent times, even this may not…

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Is the Balkanisation of democracies a consequence of increasing individuality?

Catalan just failed in its attempt to secede from Spain. Many other territories, even in the EU are at risk. In all cases, groups of people want more autonomy or establish an independent country. There are at least two different drivers: Wrong borders. Borders that were drawn by (colonial) powers irrespective of ethnic realities that force people to live together that were not meant to live together. The most prominent case that gave this development a name is the Balkan. Today…

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Fake news is hard to come by

This comprehensive analysis of the fake news situation by the Pew Research Center is a fascinating account of the complexity of the situation. They queried more than 1,000 experts about their opinion on the fake news situation: will it improve or not? The experts are divided: 51% for 49% against. The analysis goes deeply into the drivers, dependencies and also the history of the topic. It touches on political, economic, social, technology, and legal facts and trends and paints a very…

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Hard trend alert: Teal organizations in the context of human development

In his book Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness Frederic Laloux presented a model for the evolution of organizations that uses colors to describe each stage starting with ancient red “wolf pack” organizations that form under a total “chief” leader. You can get a good overview of the different stages and the overall concept in this article. The final stage is teal. Teal organizations are self-managed living entities that move toward…

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Communication future & trends

Communication future & trends Internet technologies and the miniaturization of computers have fundamentally changed how we communicate. They shaped social values, changed behaviors and created new challenges ranging from spam, huge email volumes to big data and privacy. Communication is a great case study to understand how technology and social trends interact, support and counter each other. In the early 90ties email was new and business communication primarily relied on mail and phone. Listening, responding to and even forwarding voice…

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