Ariadne

Futurists, a field guide

Robert Hickson • Dec 20, 2017

• foresight,
• futures,
• humour,
• satire

While you are out and about over summer keep and eye and ear out for futurists. They are not so common in the antipodes, but more are starting to appear on our shores. There are several species (and subspecies), so I’ve created a little guide to help you identify the most likely ones that you’ll come across in the wild. Read More

From battling bots to robo-athletes

Robert Hickson • Dec 07, 2017

• cyborgs,
• Entertainment,
• robots,
• Sport

Robotic combat is becoming a thing. In TV studios, not the battlefield. A tiresome thing, the hi-tech equivalent of Monster Truck shows. MegaBots promotes itself as “the future of sports“. (I think they forgot the (TM) in that tag line.) But they have a way to go to be more that dudes driving dumbbots. Its … Read More

The science of prediction

Robert Hickson • Dec 04, 2017

• consuming science,
• foresight,
• futures,
• prediction,
• technology

It’s coming up to that time of year when predictions start popping out like buskers playing Christmas jingles. We all know a litany of bad predictions: “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” Western Union internal memo, 1876 “I think there is … Read More

1

Beyond the basics

Robert Hickson • Nov 08, 2017

• Automation,
• economics,
• employment,
• policy,
• social welfare,
• Universal basic income

We’re gonna’ need a bigger band wagon. Faced with predictions of mass unemployment due to increasing automation calls to implement a universal basic income have been growing. This involves giving everyone an income regardless of whether they work or not. Though it is getting a less favourable welcome in Australia, because of what it … Read More

Cities of the mind

Robert Hickson • Nov 01, 2017

• city planning,
• environmental sustainability,
• future,
• local government,
• urban design

Metropolis, the Jetsons, Blade Runner. Imagining cities of the future is a popular past-time. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has just announced his vision of the mega-city of the future – Neom. With web site. And the price tag too (half a trillion dollars in case you missed it).     This struck me as … Read More

The future of labour

Robert Hickson • Oct 24, 2017

• Automation,
• employment,
• future of work

Not the party, the activity. Labour day in New Zealand is when a few remember and (mostly) celebrate the improvements in working conditions over time, while many just enjoy a day off. However, there has been much angst recently that, thanks to increasing automation, many of us will soon not have the experience of paid employment. Reflecting what seems to … Read More

Tomorrow really never comes

Robert Hickson • Oct 10, 2017

• foresight,
• future,
• prediction,
• technology

In Zeno’s philosophical paradox Achilles can never overtake the tortoise. Similarly, it sometimes seems that future technologies never arrive. Grace Ballenger and Aaron Mak writing in Slate highlight the “Goldilocks” zone of technological predictions – the next big thing is neither too close to be here by Christmas, nor too far away to become purely fictional. The … Read More

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Peak State?

Robert Hickson • Oct 06, 2017

• cities,
• geopolitics,
• Society

Are we approaching “peak State”, where the power of diverse nation states starts to decline back toward greater power being held by large cities or culturally or religiously more homogeneous regions? Catalonians and Iraqi Kurds voted in independence referenda this last week. In contrast to Scotland’s and the UK’s Brexit referenda a few years … Read More

Thinking beyond capitalism

Robert Hickson • Sep 24, 2017

• capitalism,
• economics,
• future,
• post capitalist

Joey Eschrich, writing in Slate, suggests that the futures industry has a “dearth of imagination”. He contends that futurists pay too little attention to “post-capitalist” futures. “As we fret over the future, we worry about rising sea levels and robotic job-snatchers, but the economic and political supremacy of the capitalist market doesn’t seem to be up for … Read More

The once and future farmer

Robert Hickson • Sep 16, 2017

• agriculture,
• innovation,
• Netherlands,
• New Zealand,
• Sustainability,
• water management

In our own cultural memory New Zealand used to have the best farming system in the world. No more, according to some. Two recent articles about the Netherlands illustrate how we are falling behind in some ways, and can provide a stimulus for how we can do better. National Geographic highlights the Netherland’s sustainable agricultural system in … Read More