Did You Know? @BillGates Knows The Future. And This Is So Important NOW.

Bill Gates is a futurologist. And I love this quote from him that states...

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

I am one of those people. Maybe you are too. When it comes to my own life. But not so when it comes to predicting technology trends. But I am not as good as Bill. So this year the MIT Tech Review’s breakthrough list is to be picked by a certain contributing editor. This is for the first time in its 18-year history.

And not just any contributor but... You guessed it.

Microsoft’s founder, and former CEO Bill Gates.

But why Bill?

Many reasons. Not just that he is the former CEO of Microsoft, which was once one the most powerful companies in the world. But Bill has a past on predicting the future.

Bill predicted the rise of the home computer. The graphical desktop operating system and the internet. He might not have made them. But he saw them coming. But he might not have seen himself - heralding the future in the MIT review.

As the MIT Technology Review has been published every year since 2001. It has some pedigree too. As in the past it has highlighted ideas and technologies which are now commonplace. Including cloud computing, instant messaging and self-driving vehicles.

All part and parcel of this fourth industrial revolution I harp on about. Something that is key for the future of work and the world. As Gideon Lichfield, the Editor-in-Chief of the review says…

“Bill’s choices highlight some of what he considers the most important challenges and opportunities of our time....Bill’s list reflects his belief that we’re approaching a tipping point in humanity’s technological development. From technologies that mostly make life longer to those that mostly make it better.”

I'm not 100% on that. But I won’t ruin them all either – so here is his top ten for the future.

Bill’s top ten for the future of the world.

1. Robot dexterity—robot hands that can learn to manipulate unfamiliar objects on their own.

2. New-wave nuclear power—both fission and fusion reactor designs that could help bring down carbon emissions.

3. Predicting preemies—a simple blood test to warn of a preterm birth, potentially saving many children’s lives.

4. Gut probe in a pill—a swallow able device that can image the digestive tract and even perform biopsies.

5. Custom cancer vaccines—a treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to target only tumour cells.

6. The cow-free burger—both plant-based and lab-grown meat alternatives that could drastically cut emissions from the food industry.

7. Carbon dioxide catcher—techniques for absorbing CO2 from the air and locking it away that may finally become economic.

8. An ECG on your wrist—the ability for people with heart conditions to continuously monitor their health and get early warnings of problems.

9. Sanitation without sewers—a self-contained toilet that could tackle disease and unpleasant living conditions in much of the developing world.

10.Smooth-talking AI assistants—new advances in natural language processing that make digital assistants capable of greater autonomy.

My take on them.

As a futurist – and a tech trends geek – I love that he is thinking about things like the gut probe pill. As the new version of "wearables" (as digestible) is something I talked about.

When down in Cambridge at the launch of Dress Code Shirts a few months back.And with my personal interest in the future of health. Especially about Type 2 Diabetes. I have always had a sneaky eye on what Apple have been doing with their ECG on your wrist. As the potential for this moves beyond heart conditions but that’s another story.

Now I would love the future of the world to be about health and the environment*. As it should be. But in reality, human beings seem to care more about their wealth than their health. So it’s his last prediction – where I see as something that is important. Not just for marketing but for the future of work itself.

The rise and rise of AI assistant and chat bots.

It’s something I have chatted about before – not only on the BBC but in talks around the country. These AI assistants will be part and parcel for the new future of work.

As #theFUTUREworker you will have to use AI as part of your job.

As accountants became better with calculators. So marketing people will become better marketers with AI powered decisions. And HR consultants will become better company culture creators with tools like Your FLOCK. That might not need AI right now. But uses chat bots in the process of on-boarding employees. To give the consultant the data they need to make the right decisions.

These soon to be smooth talking AI assistants. Will be unbelievable useful for directors and decision makers. And also for consumers to. These chat bots and AI assistants will be so good that they will be undetectable in the market place. Which might pose an ethical or even a marketing dilemma.

(Hat top to marketing legend Seth Godin here for this great blog.)

From a marketing POV.

Do you want to know, as a customer whether you are talking to a human or a bot? Should your customer know if are talking to a bot or to a human? Which is better at keeping to your brand values? Which one can remember them more? Which one is programmed to do so? Which one (the bot or the human) will be better at customer service?

Which is more humane? The human having a bad day. Or the optimistic robot that never grows tired.

(I am going to talking about chat bots and the future of marketing and tech at this event here.)

The question will be. If you are dealing with such a machine. Do you want to know that you are.

Or WHY the computer says no?

If it ever does?

"As in reality, in the future of work, the first people to go are going to be: The “computer says no” people." Dan Sodergren (2019)

And don’t get me wrong. As a technologist about the "who". As well as the what. Who will lose the first jobs? Or their jobs first? Who will use this technology. Who benefits... etc. And not in a detached way. When it comes to the AI revolution. I don’t think marketing people or futurists are immune. Far from it. We might be the first to go.

And I am not alone. The predictions for the future of marketing are very tech and chatbot heavy. (Thanks Larry Kim for his wisdom here.)

This is the future.

Marketing peoples' (as we know them) days are numbered.

Us traditional marketing lot. With the lawyers and doctors. And the accountants. And the banking staff. And a lot of professional services. People who think they are often immune to such changes. The arrogance that comes from their position and their supposed defensible experience and superior know how make them vulnerable.

Look at what “having the knowledge” as a taxi driver finally gave way to. The monopoly on information didn't save them.

From.... I won’t say their name ... Or use the verb.

In case, they come for your industry next.

So what I will leave you with. Is the simple fact. The future that Bill Gates is proclaiming is going to be an interesting one. And a great one...

But perhaps not for those that think they aren't going to have to change.

Thanks for reading...

Please do like this article by clicking the thumb and remember "sharing is caring" ??

If you would like to read my regular posts then please click 'Follow' and send me a LinkedIn invite. And, of course, feel free to also connect via Twitter.

Here are some other LinkedIn articles written by me:

· The F word and why we should celebrate it

· My letter to Kate Winslet - please don't...

· Twitter vs Facebook who has the eyeballs for it?

About the Author:

Dan Sodergren is a professional trainer and speaker. He is a digital marketing trainer based in Manchester with Great Marketing Works. He specialises in mobile and social marketing with ideas ranging from augmented reality, to RTB and back again.

He trains companies and individuals in digital, social and mobile marketing. He also sometimes gets to talk about it all on radio and is even occasionally on the BBC.

He is now an early stage investor in HR tech company FLOCK and in Be Free Of Type2D.

Come and see him talk at....

* I argue about the logic of at least one of his predictions. And even though I see the future being "real meat free" I don’t personally think the alternatives are better for you.

**That's why I invested into FLOCK.

The talk at Business Expo 2019.

References for further reading: