Can We Solve The World’s Problems?
The singularity is described as the ‘super-intelligence’ that will result from the merging of man and machine and is predicted to happen sometime around 2045. Some argue it has already happened given the way we’ve become inseparable from our smartphones and the sense of loss we feel when we lose them.
We know the smartphone we take for granted today is more powerful that the most powerful computer of 20 years ago and that the cost of technology is falling rapidly.
One of the reasons for such progress is the move from traditional linear thinking where progress is incremental and evolutionary to exponential thinking where progress is rapid and revolutionary.
This shift in thinking changes everything as it enables technology to progress at speed and scale while, at the same time, reduce in cost.
Some of the areas already affected by such new thinking include medicine, robotics, biotechnology and new fields like genome sequencing and nanotechnology.
The trends are already appearing and the possibility of finding solutions to traditional problems is being explored by many organisations around the world.
The speed of change is increasing at such a rate that opportunities and solutions, humanitarian and commercial, are appearing in areas traditionally seen as unsolvable such as health, hunger and poverty.
In a similar vein, it is estimated that by 2020 an additional three billion people will join the global economy causing disruption for companies that don’t understand how to manage such massive growth.
The people and companies that embrace such growth opportunities will provide the solutions needed to solve global problems of size and scale.
Opportunities are already being explored as ‘business incubators’, ‘maker-spaces’ and ‘bio-labs’ in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, innovation and biotechnology are developed to find solutions to traditional problems.
These types of ‘hot-house’ business incubation spaces are combining the latest and best thinking with new ideas that can be commercialised to create new products and markets.
SO, the shift from linear to exponential thinking is happening and with it the advance of technology in ways that will help tackle some of the world’s most difficult problems.
What about you? Do you think we can solve the world’s problems? Get in touch, we would love to hear your views contact Nick on 028 8224 9494 or via Twitter @nick_oec.
Look forward to hearing your stories and feedback in the comments below.
