Miles to Go: Being Human in an AI World
Food for Thought: Making AI Work
As mentioned last week, the future of work is top of mind for me, both personally and professionally. The workforce the future—at least the human component of it—will not only collaborate with artificial intelligence systems, employees will be placing a large amount of trust in their automated “colleagues.” This rapidly evolving human-AI relationship raises a key business question: How will humans and machines collaborate to deliver your corporate purpose in the ‘Bionic World’?
With that question in mind, I found this article on robots and agribusiness fascinating. If robots can help feed the world while eliminating herbicides, replenishing topsoil and reducing carbon consumption, well, that would be a perfect example of technology and innovation benefiting humankind on a global scale. Jorge Heraud, founder of startup Blue River Technologies, says there’s a happy paradox in robots helping to restore nature rather than taking us away from it.
ICYMI: Hit the Road
I constantly travel, with regular jaunts from airports to the local downtown business districts. More than any country, the United States has bisected its cities with highways. Whether you find these to be eyesores, sources of driving frustration or necessary evils, there’s a story behind the trend that dates back several decades. Reading some of the history behind this infrastructure trend shows the pitfalls (potholes?) that cities subsequently encountered. While there’s ongoing debate over how to improve and transform urban infrastructure, recent years have brought a definite shift in mindset.
What Keeps Me Awake at Night: Societal Smarts
What is a “smart” society, and what could this look like in the future? As the authors of this World Economic Forum piece see it, digital technology deployed by governments can improve outcomes in three broad areas: the wellbeing of citizens, economic strength and institutional effectiveness. With the premise that a smart society should be defined by outcomes rather than specific technologies, the authors created a smart society benchmark. You may be interested in seeing how five selected countries stack up against this benchmark.