The big data industry has witnessed any number of tipping points in recent years as once-obscure ideas and technologies have quickly achieved dominance. Hadoop. Spark. Data Lakes. Big data itself. And now comes the Internet of Cars (AKA the Internet of Automobiles), a phenomenon with huge potential impact both in the industry and in society […]
How can businesses stay agile and competitive in the face of massive data volumes, exponentially increasing complexity, and the growing need for real-time answers, decisions, and responses? In his new book The Sentient Enterprise, technologist and visionary Oliver Ratzesberger, along with co-author Mohanbir Sawhney, outlines a revolutionary methodology for aligning data, systems, and people within […]
An alternative way of distributing a book: rather than going through the normal distribution channels, just give some away. Ask the recipients, if they don’t find the book to their liking, to please pass it on to someone whom they think would like it. And ask them if they do like it to consider purchasing […]
Researchers and practitioners are making dramatic progress in producing usable human tissues via (highly modified) 3D printers. Although we aren’t there yet, eventually we can expect to see whole kidneys, livers, hearts, and lungs produced in vats or via printer-like devices. These will be a godsend for patients who otherwise would be looking for an […]
The technology already pretty much exists to recreate classic movies with a computer-generated version of you replacing the star. This could be extended to include your whole family or circle of friends. (Do It’s a Wonderful Life for Christmas for example.) Or you could leave some of the original actors in place, depending on who […]
In the future we will be able to interact with virtual versions of celebrities, historical figures, and fictional characters. Of course, these virtual people will be sophisticated software programs designed to approximate what their characters are / were / would be like. A useful variation might be to have a chat with virtual alternate versions […]
One of the most important applications of full-immersion virtual reality will be virtual eating. Like sex, eating is a pleasurable activity that can be disentangled from its risks and downsides in a virtual environment. If people could virtually eat any and everything they want, any time, and the physical experience was identical to the real […]
One of the ironies of a more highly connected world is how isolated and lonely some people feel. There are online services whereby you can rent a “friend” for some task or occasion. (Say you have an extra ticket to the game, but no one to go with.) But there is no continuity there. There […]
In spite of their reputation as being dangerous and their classification as illicit drugs, hallucinogens may have a lot to offer. Historically, they have played an important role in certain mystical and spiritual traditions, and they have been seriously studied as a potential means of coming to a better understanding of how our minds work. […]
How about a new kind of push prize, one just for making things faster? Just about any process can be improved by being accelerated. Doing things faster means being able to do more. Getting faster means becoming more capable. If you can read faster, you can read more books in the same time. If you […]