Robert Hickson • Jun 19, 2018 •
The Jetpack has been a futuristic symbol of techno-utopia, and freedom, for a century. The first jetpack was conceived in 1919. It wasn’t until 1958, though, that the first working model was created. But they still seem further from general availability than the comparatively more pedestrian flying car, which I wrote about last year. There … Read More
Guest Work • May 15, 2018 •
By Matt Boyd and Nick Wilson We have just published an article (free online) on existential risks – with an NZ orientated perspective.1 In this blog we discuss some of the issues that NZ society could start to discuss. Do we value future people? Do we care about the wellbeing of people who don’t yet exist? Do we care … Read More
Robert Hickson • Apr 25, 2018 •
As we always do this time of year in NZ we look back and honour past wartime sacrifices, and reflect on how they have shaped the national mindset and identity. That’s important to do, but it seems that as a country we spend a lot of time in reflection and too little looking forward. Well, you may say, the world … Read More
Robert Hickson • Mar 12, 2018 •
There’s plenty of innovative thinking around building houses, but less so about communities. I’ve been writing a series of blogs on the future of construction for the industry transformation initiative. They’ll be appearing on their website over the next few months. There’s a lot going on in the housing and construction field. It’s not just about increasing … Read More
Guest Work • Mar 12, 2018 •
Astghik Mavisakalyan, Curtin University; Clas Weber, University of Western Australia, and Yashar Tarverdi, Curtin University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Does the language we speak influence how much we care about the environment? Our new research suggests that the answer is yes. Speakers of … Read More
Guest Work • Feb 22, 2018 •
Adam Bulley, The University of Queensland and Thomas Suddendorf, The University of Queensland This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Everyone knows smoking, consuming too much sugar and drinking too much alcohol will harm our long-term health – but many of us do these things anyway. Why? Of course, … Read More
Robert Hickson • Nov 01, 2017 •
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
Robert Hickson • Oct 10, 2017 •
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
Robert Hickson • Sep 24, 2017 •
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
Robert Hickson • Jul 15, 2017 •
A few weeks ago I gave a conference talk about using stories to look at the future. I focused on the need to pay more attention to creating stronger story lines and characters. That’s because it is more important to stimulate the audience to explore a range of possible futures than to try and predict what you think may happen. Read More