Future predictors: tech and innovation in TV series

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October

2021

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Imagine yourself on a Friday night turning on your television for a new episode of your favorite show. Almost everyone has had that moment when the story develops and shows some incredible innovation that you wished you had in your own life. Everyone fantasized a bit and drifted away in the moment.

Technological innovations that were impossible at the moment of production in series is a phenomenon that has occurred on multiple occasions. The original Star Trek franchise showed spaceships with capabilities that are possible now but were just imagination at production. One could even argue that the creative minds that made up the idea could have inspired innovators in their development.

More recent examples are in the popular Netflix series Black Mirror where a society is based on likes, online platforms and that currency and status is completely based on your personal branding on such a platform. A shock went through Europe when newspapers revealed that this could be the truth and such a platform was developed in China and it wanted to organize its society based on Big Data.

In the last 2 years we were all front row spectators of an innovation process one would have expected to take multiple years: the development of Covid-19 vaccines. Whereas the fight against other diseases like HIV/aids or Alzheimer’s are still in process and have been for decades, the development of this specific vaccine got fast tracked due to determination. 

If tech specialists and innovators would decide to put their shared focus on one of the proposed technologies, the development of that would be in reach. This is helpful as a solution to many problems, but also comes with a darker side. This is perfectly depicted in the trailer of the new Dutch movie “De Sterfshow”.

With the rise of technology, we also see the dark side of development and innovation in tech. Online criminals using phishing or other scams or hackers trying to access data. We are at a certain point where basic knowledge just is not enough anymore to be safe on the web. With so many new possibilities it is time for a lot of people to wake up and be aware. More than ever legislation is behind technological development and technological innovation has a free pass and can only be kept in check in hindsight. We should be aware of the benefits that Big Data brings, but also wake up to the possibilities of the downside and the slippery slope we are on. Before you know it, something we held as impossible will be released soon and available for all. Social norms could change and something that sounds terrifying could be just one decision away from reality.

https://nypost.com/2018/09/19/chinas-social-credit-system-is-a-real-life-black-mirror-nightmare/

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The Sustainable Urban Delta as a holistic solution

4

October

2021

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Singapore as an example of the Sustainable Urban Delta

Rainfall floods in the Benelux, storms in America and more alarming messages in the latest climate report from the United Nations. An increasing population pressures the earth and its natural resources and the current technologies and demands of humanity demand more from the earth than it could provide.  Climate change is getting real for a lot of people. 

RSM alumnus Meiny Prins was faced with the same problems a couple of years ago and decided to use her family business (PRIVA) to be a force for positive change. Her answer to tackle one of the problems surrounding the provision of food: The Sustainable Urban Delta.

To cope with the urbanization and provide a holistic solution for the problems that come with urbanization, Prins learned from the integrated approach in business and wanted to apply that. With her new business idea, she created a multipurpose solution for a multipurpose problem.

Nothing of this would be possible without the application of artificial intelligence in combination with smart cities and the internet of things. By using real-time data, the artificial intelligence systems can use the limited available resources in the most circular way as possible. This means optimal use of energy, water and most important: space. An integral way to combine city life while determining the best moment and place close by to provide in food and clean water. Using the benefits of one process to prevent problems of other systems. For example, by using vertical farming in city centers, cities can cool down the temperature by providing a green oasis. All of this combined in a perfect harmony and totally data driven.

However, one could argue the feasibility of this plan. Prins’s plan is to design total ecosystems in large cities to bring back the so-called green belt to create a livable future. However, to what scale do we need to develop these delta’s. And how is one able to create that on a large scale with the current state of urbanization? Even though that every 3 months a new 9 million people city rises, the current degree of urbanization will not allow the Sustainable Urban Delta to develop without a massive change in current civilization.

The vision of Prins is vivid and inspires people to do good. It is however the question to what scale PRIVA can provide impact with their digital solutions in agriculture and smart cities. But maybe by looking around, we can conclude that the Netherlands is one of the first urban delta’s on a national level.

https://sustainableurbandelta.com/casestudies/

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