Innovation Insight: The Next Big Thing

KnowledgeBrief clients were joined this month by futurist Christopher Barnatt, to explore why leaders need to start turning their attention to future technological revolutions.

While 20 years ago the Internet was the Next Big Thing, today online developments are at best evolutionary – the “next big thing” quickly becomes the “last big thing”. Using the Internet will still be important and we will continue to rely on it, but we need to shift our focus away from the cyber world to seek future shaping innovations.

Christopher Barnatt, ExplainingTheFuture.com, revealed future revolutions that will determine how things are made, where resources come from, and the evolution of the human species.

The four big fundamental future transitions are:

• Local digital manufacturing – Current manufacturing models will have to change to meet resource decreases and energy price rises. The converging developments of 3D printing, synthetic biology and nanotechnologies will increasingly be used to make products on demand and close to the consumer, and deliver a revolution in manufacturing.
• Synthetic citizens – Barnatt predicts that artificial intelligence will become deterministic in the 2020s, and will impact every industry and change the customer interface. Companies are also investing in humanoid robots. In a few decades, humanoid robots could deliver healthcare, care for the elderly and transform traditional production methods.
• Resources from space – As humanity grows, we need to consume less energy and fewer raw materials. Some private firms are already investing in looking beyond Earth’s finite supplies to obtain fresh energy. For example, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency is working on a ‘space-based solar power’ plant for use in the 2030s.
• Transhuman evolution – New possibilities are coming that will challenge how we develop as human beings. By the second half of this century, some of the world’s population will be a mash-up of legacy biology and artificial digital technologies. ‘Transhumans’ will have bodies or brains that are augmented by bioprinting, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, cybernetics and genetic medicine.

Clients, including Schroders, BTG, NHS National Services Scotland and Monmouthshire County Council, discussed the risk of not reacting to the challenges and opportunities early enough. Organisations need to identify what will impact their industry and focus on longer term planning. Beyond 2030, the way we live today will no longer be sustainable.

Next, this group will be explore how to Govern the Innovation Process: From Idea to Launch. For more information and to join, please view the event page.