Bill Gates

Driving An Autonomous Vehicle Through The Streets Of London

Frank Diana Autonomous Vehicles, Future Scenarios , , , , ,

Bill Gates recently drove through the streets of London in an autonomous vehicle and got a front row view of where driving is heading. He describes the scenario in a recent blog post.

That day is coming sooner rather than later. We’ve made tremendous progress on autonomous vehicles, or AVs, in recent years, and I believe we’ll reach a tipping point within the next decade.

Bill Gates

Much as he did when he wrote about artificial intelligence, he believes autonomous vehicles will change transportation as dramatically as the PC changed office work. He states in his blog that right now, we’re close to the tipping point – between levels 2 and 3 of the Society of American Engineers classification system – when cars allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel and let the system drive in certain circumstances. Level 3 use was recently improved in the United States under certain conditions. Advances in sensors and other technologies have accelerated the path – as is the case in practically any scenario we consider. As I recently posted, data is central to these scenarios.

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Bill Gates Looks At Life After COVID-19

Frank Diana Future Scenarios, Pandemics , , , , ,

Back in April and May, there was a lot of crystal ball gazing going on. Will COVID-19 change our world forever? This Post, among others I wrote in the early days of the pandemic, explored the various ways the world may change. In the post, I reflected on a key warning sign: most predictions of a post-crisis world have historically been wrong. I pointed to an Article authored by Rob Walker, where he stresses that thoughtful speculation about the future helps us cope with the present and identify potential challenges and opportunities. He adds however that history tells us that most predictions will be wrong. In looking back at predictions post 9/11 and the great recession, Mr. Walker provides supporting evidence for this statement.

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Life in 2030 could be Unrecognizable

Frank Diana Trends and Predictions , , , , , ,

Predictions for the new year are a normal phenomenon as the current one draws to a close – but the close of a decade is different. As we approach a new decade, predictions focus on the broad arc of the coming decade – and this Article does just that. Author Eric Mack seems to view the 2020s through the same lens that I have – a society-altering decade may lie in wait. As the author notes; life in 2030 could be unrecognizable if some of what he describes is realized. Take a read to explore these possibilities:

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Techno-Philanthropists Drive Exponential Progression

Frank Diana Pace, The Third Tipping Point , , , , , , , , ,

A group of billionaires have pledged one billion dollars to fund radical new energy technologies. Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) is an investment fund that aims to accelerate energy innovation and disrupt the energy industry. This Bill Gates brainchild managed to secure a host of high-profile investors, including Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Jack Ma, and Michael Bloomberg – and they’ve just announced their First Seven Investments.

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The Fourth Age

Frank Diana Artificial Intelligence, Future Scenarios, Humanity, Our Emerging Future, The Third Tipping Point , , , , , , ,

Byron Reese recently authored a book titled The Fourth Age. I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating look at history, and the focus on possible futures. In looking at the future, Mr. Reese explores the reasons that experts disagree on the path of these possible futures. He asks: why do Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates fear artificial intelligence (AI) and express concern that it may be a threat to humanity’s survival; and yet, why do an equally illustrious group, including Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Ng, and Pedro Domingos, find this viewpoint so far-fetched as to be hardly even worth a rebuttal? The answer as described by the author lies not in what we know – but what we individually belief. This theme throughout the book is an interesting piece of self-reflection. See how you would answer the questions posed by the author.

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