Ariadne

Featured image: A robotic “Cambrian explosion”?

A robotic “Cambrian explosion”?

Robert Hickson • Sep 06, 2015

Gill Pratt, who until recently ran some of DARPA’s robotics programs, has posited in the Journal of Economic Perspectives that the field of robotics may perhaps in the near future go through the technological equivalent of the “Cambrian explosion”,  resulting in a myriad of wondrous mechanical forms.   Source: ChopShopStore http://chopshopstore.com/index.php/werobotnew.html [Of course, the Cambrian “explosion” … Read More

Featured image: The future of science in NZ

The future of science in NZ

Robert Hickson • Aug 03, 2015

Being an author of one of the articles published last week in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand’s “The future of science in New Zealand” forum (Volume 45, Issue 2; open access for the next month) I was interested to see what futures the other authors came up with. I deliberately took a less … Read More

3

Australia’s future workforce?

Robert Hickson • Jun 29, 2015

Australia’s Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has released a door-stopper of a report called Australia’s future workforce? It explores a range of themes and issues associated with changing workforces, with chapters from academics (largely), industry representatives, and policy people. CEDA is a respected non-profit organisation for economic and social issues; the equivalent of the Conference Board … Read More

One hundred years hence

Robert Hickson • Apr 19, 2015

Over the next week New Zealanders (& Australians) are looking back a century to remember and honour a tragic battle in a foreign land. There are a lot of activities and discussions happening about Gallipoli and how it subsequently influenced New Zealander society. It is right and important to reflect on our history, both the good and the bad. What … Read More

Leadership for the long term

Robert Hickson • Apr 13, 2015

Long term thinking has never appeared to be a strong point in New Zealand’s public or private sectors. We used to have a Commission for the Future, which produced a range of reports (a list of which is available courtesy of the McGuinness Institute), but it fell out of favour during the Muldoon years. The Commission … Read More

Kiwi codestars

Robert Hickson • Apr 08, 2015

On a per capita basis New Zealand, reputedly, is a hot spot for top computer coders. That’s according to an analysis by Venture Beat of rankings from Stack Overflow – a site where programmers rank each others answers to coding questions. That comes as a surprise. Sure we have innovative IT firms like Xero, TradeMe, Sidhe, Animation … Read More

Living longer

Robert Hickson • Mar 29, 2015

Imagine, in 20 or 30 years, going to your health preservation service provider to receive your annual injections to remove senescent cells and down regulate selected gene expression in the hypothalamus, alongside a transfusion of synthetic “young” blood to promote tissue repair and healthier ageing. Later on you may take a pill … Read More

3

Uncertain predictions

Robert Hickson • Feb 19, 2015

“Active open-minded thinking” and “massive ignoramus”. Those are views on what makes a good forecaster according to two  “super-forecasters” from Philip Tetlock’s and IARPA’s Good Judgment Project.  It also helps if you forecast as part of a team with other good forecasters. But some things are more predictable than others. Michael Burnam-Fink, in a paper in … Read More

Site Meter