Innovation
Cities of the Future, Hot New Industries, and much more. Discover what the future holds for your business
Customized Virtual Keynote Speeches and Webinars are available
Would you like to get ahead of the investment curve by gaining insight into Hot Industries of the Future? Or, what tomorrow’s cities will look like?
Cities of the Future
Have you ever wondered what the future for cities might look like?
Futurist Shara Evans shares her vision and takes us on a journey into the “Cities of the Future” and the collaboration between government, industry, start-ups and researchers that will be required to create a future that we want to live in.
Focussing in on technology, be prepared to have your mind blown by the possibilities that lie ahead.
Imagine in the software enabled world of the near future, robots as a service will be offered by innovators in a range of industries, autonomous vehicles + drones will communicate with each other and the cloud, all kinds of things will be 3D printed on demand, and humans will become increasingly integrated with the ‘net.
Topics covered include:
- Smart Cities — Bringing infrastructure to life with sensors, IoT connections and robots
- Self Driving Cars + Cars of the Future
- The Drone Revolution — Will our cities have highways in the sky?
- Inside the Home of the Future — Connecting Gadgets, Appliances and Robots to the Internet of Things
- Technology + Humans: What will the future hold?
Smart Cities
Have you ever thought about what is meant by the term “Smart City”? With increasing communication speeds, and a proliferation of devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT), cities around the world are using real-time actionable insights to benefit citizens in many different ways
New transport technologies such as driverless vehicles, delivery ‘bots, drones and even flying taxis are starting to appear in urban cityscapes around the world, and in the not too distant future we’ll also be seeing hyperloops for ultra-fast long distance transport. There are even research projects underway that use fleets of tiny robots to “heal” city defects such as potholes as soon as they start to appear.
Rapid developments in the field of artificial intelligence is underpinning many of these advances – with everything from machine learning and deep learning algorithms enabling software and robots to “learn” from the increasingly massive datasets that we create on a daily basis. AI is also the basis of natural language text and voice interfaces, chatbots, digital assistants, image recognition, facial recognition and emotion detection. But with the ubiquitous use of CCTV camera feeds and real-time AI-based analysis, where do we draw the line between monitoring events for the good of citizens to a surveillance state mentality?
When it comes to the topic of Smart Cities there’s so much that can be discussed!
Technology futurist Shara Evans customises all of her keynote speeches to client requirements whether it be for up-to-date technology briefings to new business opportunities, to cyber security threats.
AI – It’s Already Part of Our Everyday Lives
We’ve all heard the term “Artificial Intelligence” – but what does it really mean, and what kinds of capabilities are available today, and going further into the future?
Today, AI can be thought of as an umbrella term that encompasses machine learning, deep learning, natural language recognition, voice interfaces, chatbots, speech translation, virtual personal assistants, computer vision, image recognition, facial recognition, emotion detection, smart robots, driverless cars and a whole lot more!
This is one technology that has the potential to impact every single person and business on the planet and it’s already being rolled out in applications ranging from chatbots to help with online banking, to cutting edge medical imagery analysis, to robots of every size and description. AI is behind the scenes working away in the background on sales and marketing campaigns, detecting fraud, analysing huge datasets, cutting down the time it takes to process contracts, and even predicting sporting outcomes.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. As of this writing, all of these AI-based attributes tend to be deployed in very narrow tasked based functions, whereas in the future it’s very likely that we will be developing general AIs that have human level intellects and beyond. This is likely to take at least 20 years – and quite possibly significantly longer – but researchers around the world are working hard to achieve this goal. And once achieved, we’ll have reached an era of machine consciousness.
How is consciousness to be defined in a world of machines that reduce human experience to mathematical data, interpreted by stored “memories” and algorithms? How can we teach AIs about human ethics? Who is responsible for the actions of AIs? How should liability be determined for their mistakes? Can a legal system designed by humans keep pace with activities produced by an AI capable of outthinking and potentially outmanoeuvring them? Will our laws need to change to give robots and AIs similar rights to humans? Or, will we need to design in the equivalent of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robots – and limit machines to be subservient to humans?
And, what happens when (if) we take AI-based chips and integrate them into our bodies for non-medical purposes? In the fast-paced world of AI development, you can count on futurist Shara Evans to provide your audience with cutting edge information that’s tailored to your industry.
AI + Robotics: How Technology Is Impacting Innovation
Technology is increasingly impacting business performance in all kinds of ways — both good and bad. It’s opening up LOTS of new opportunities — but is also quite disruptive.
With such a wide range of innovation opportunities, what are the key technologies that businesses can take advantage of today? When posed this question, futurist Shara Evans says: “If I had to pick just one technology that will impact every person and business on the planet it would be AI + Robots (most robots are physical versions of AI).”
In this keynote speech, Shara takes you into the world of AI + Robots and how they’re impacting businesses + what this means to you in your role organisation — as well as sharing with you some of her thoughts on Jobs of the Future and the Future of Humanity.
This speech is highly customised to a client’s brief and can include many different topics and vertical industry examples.
Technology and the Future of Business
Will technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, smart cities, the Internet of Things, driverless cars, flying taxis, artificial intelligence and robots radically change the business landscape – and provide major opportunities for advisory services? In this keynote speech, futurist Shara Evans provides insights into hot new areas for management consulting firms.
From big data and analytics, to image recognition, voice recognition, emotion recognition and robots, AI is set to be part of our daily lives in new and unexpected ways. AI is being woven into almost every emerging technology on the near and long-term horizon, but along with incredible increases in productivity there are ways that AI can be manipulated by bad actors. And, AI – along with robots – will have an immense impact on the jobs market. As such, understanding the many aspects of AI is fundamental to anticipating your customer’s future needs.
One of the new ways we’re seeing technologies being brought to market is the “As a Service” model, where everything from “Robots as a Service” to BioTech as a Service” will start to become commonplace. And, concepts such as quantum entanglement will move out of research labs into commercial products – including quantum-based blockchain applications.
As we continue to embrace the ever-expanding myriad of emerging technologies, security and privacy will increasingly become a Board level issue. With the recent introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies around the world will need to pay close attention to the way that data is collected, stored and used.
And, technological change won’t just impact our business world, it also has the potential to fundamentally change what it means to be human. In this speech, Shara shares insights into the technologies we may very well integrate into our own bodies.
We’re living in exciting times! The things that we do right now will shape human society for decades, if not centuries to come.
Technologies of Tomorrow
Rapid advances in technologies are creating amazing opportunities for businesses. However, most people don’t have enough time in the day to stay on top of this quickly changing landscape. Not to worry – futurist Shara Evans is here to help guide you through the landscape of newly released tech, along with cutting edge research lab developments.
In this engaging keynote session, Shara shares many examples of how technologies such as augmented and virtual reality can be harnessed for business advantage across a wide range of industries. Impacts and opportunities created by smart cities, sensor technologies, driverless vehicles and drones – along with things to watch out for. As well as state-of-the art information on robots and AI. On top of this is the convergence of medical research and technology – where we’re on the cusp of humans not only living much longer than we do today, but also being enhanced by technology.
Along with the many opportunities that arise from the world of emerging technologies there are also challenges – including the impact of automation on the workforce.
Shara’s latest research has focused on defining Jobs of the Future, and in this speech she will share some of the new roles you can expect to see in your business over the next few years.
This is a speech that you won’t want to miss.
Technologies of Tomorrow: Preparing Your Business for the Future
Rapid advances in technologies are creating amazing opportunities for businesses. However, most people don’t have enough time in the day to stay on top of this quickly changing landscape. Not to worry – futurist Shara Evans is here to help guide you through the landscape of newly released tech, along with cutting edge research lab developments.
In this engaging keynote session, Shara shares many examples of how technologies such as augmented and virtual reality can be harnessed for business advantage across a wide range of industries. Impacts and opportunities created by smart cities, sensor technologies, driverless vehicles and drones – along with things to watch out for. As well as state-of-the art information on robots and AI. On top of this is the convergence of medical research and technology – where we’re on the cusp of humans not only living much longer than we do today, but also being enhanced by technology.
Along with the many opportunities that arise from the world of emerging technologies there are also challenges – including the impact of automation on the workforce.
Shara’s latest research has focused on defining Jobs of the Future, and in this speech she will share some of the new roles you can expect to see in your business over the next few years.
This is a speech that you won’t want to miss.
Life in the Software-enabled World of Tomorrow
How will humans live and fit into this ever increasing software-enabled world? Futurist Shara Evans elaborates more deeply on this vision of the future, where Robots as a Service are offered by innovators in a range of industries, autonomous vehicles + drones communicate with each other and the cloud, where anything can be 3D printed on demand, and humans become increasingly integrated with the ‘net.
Topics covered include:
- AI + Robots – how these technologies fit into a range of vertical industry segments
- 3D Printing – a game-changer for industries ranging from supply and logistics, retail goods, medical devices, housing, food, and even the bio-printing of living human body parts
- Humans and their integration with Technology
Into the Future: How Technology Innovation will Transform our World
Understanding future technology is key to making impactful decisions and in this keynote speech, futurist Shara Evans describes how the latest technology advances are likely to significantly disrupt the traditional model of providing care and services.
Shara will cover evolving topics such as new wearable sensors that can be used to provide ultra-individualized healthcare, the implications of new transportation models, robots, artificial intelligence, the convergence of biotech and ICT, and how nanotechnologies and augmentation of our bodies may change what it means to be human.
This keynote will leave you with future insights along with being prepared for what to expect the future of care and services to look like.
Topics covered include:
- New technologies that will radically improve personalized healthcare
- Going into the future, what will it mean to be human as we integrate technologies into our body
- Understanding the emerging Internet of Things, and the role of sensors, biometrics and robots in creating smart cities
- How emerging technologies such as augmented and virtual reality will change the way we visualize and interact with the world
- The role of drones in urban landscapes
- The impact of driverless cars on society, including how automation will provide new mobility options for elderly, disabled and infirm citizens, as well as some of the unforseen consequences of autonomous driving.
- The many applications of Artificial Intelligence — From big data and analytics, to image recognition, voice recognition and robots, AI is set to be part of our daily lives in new and unexpected ways
Emerging Technologies: New Data Sets to Interpret and Monetize
Be prepared in this keynote speech to be taken on a journey into the future as futurist Shara Evans paints a picture of the emerging technologies that will shape the world over the next 10-20 years, along the way creating new investment opportunities, as well as huge new data sets that can be used to increase our understanding of real world situations.
The analysis and real-time interpretation of this data tsunami will present both challenges and opportunities — opening up new ways to make money, save money or solve a problem.
Topics covered Include:
- Emerging technologies such as advanced wearables, augmented and virtual reality, and biometrics — all of which will generate massive amounts of data that can be leveraged into real-time context based information.
- Smart Cities — Bringing infrastructure to life with sensors, IoT connections and robots
- Self Driving Cars + Cars of the Future — Exploring the latest in automotive technologies, robot vision, vehicle sensors, vehicle-to-vehicle communications, along with the ripple effect driverless cars will have on the economy
- The Drone Revolution — Looking at both the incredible benefits and challenges we face as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) take to the skies with high definition cameras and sensors. Will our cities have highways in the sky?
- The Next Wave of Big Data — How Artificial Intelligence will transform information silos, perform advanced voice recognition, facial recognition and emotion detection
- A Look Into the Future — How the convergence of biotech, ICT, nanotechnologies and augmentation of our bodies may change what it means to be human.
The Next Big Thing — Future Industries, Services and Products
Do you have an understanding of what these are and how they affect your business? These are exciting times we are living in, for example there are an amazing number of new technologies on the horizon, which will create a world 10 years from now that may – in many ways – be unrecognizable, and in 20 years seem straight out of a SciFi movie.
Not only will these technologies change the way we live our lives, but they also have the potential to completely transform industries such as manufacturing, transport and logistics, healthcare, agriculture and many others. Along the way, they’ll create new investment opportunities, new product categories, completely new jobs, and disrupt business as usual.
In this keynote speech, futurist Shara Evans explores these latest cutting edge emerging technologies and trends that will shape the world over the next 10 years. You may ask yourself, is this relevant for my business? And the answer is yes! Shara will show you insights to help you navigate the opportunities that lie ahead and that can be leveraged by your business today.
Topics covered include:
- Setting the Scene — The Current State of Play: Mobile Apps, Social Media, Hacking Targets, Wearables
- Augmented reality, facial recognition, voice interfaces, biometrics + 3D cameras — Changing the way we interface with our environment
- Wearable, Implantable and Ingestible Devices — Enablers for a new of Generation of Healthcare Services?
- 3D Printing — In the not-too-distant future everything from spare parts to body parts will be printable on demand
- Home automation — Connecting to the Internet of Things
- The next generation of shopping — The technologies underpinning mass customisation (will we still need shopping centres?)
- Sensor Networks — Instrumenting the Environment: A Key Enabler for Smart Cities
- Air, Land + Sea: Expect to see Robots everywhere!
- The Next Wave of Big Data — How Digital Avatars and AI will Transform Information Silos
‘Shara tailored her content/expertise to our audience and it was a perfect fit!’
Looking For a Dynamic Speaker?
Get in touch now to check Shara’s availability to speak at your next event. Shara works closely with her clients to ensure all her presentations are tailored to your event – ensuring maximum impact for your business.