…at least according to Patrick Tucker for Salon.com:
Some of the quotes presented really make you stop and think, like the very first one:
As much as 45 percent of the jobs that currently exist in the United States will be taken over by computers or artificial intelligence systems by 2045.
This quote, by Nick Bostrom director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford, is a quote that I think we’re beginning to see as reality today. While there are those in political spheres quick to blame one party or the other for unemployment, I’ve felt that part of the reason -a big part- may well have to do with the complete change in how so many people buy things today.
As I’ve mentioned perhaps too many times, there are no longer music stores because you can now download just about any music you want legally and, unfortunately, illegally via the internet. The same is happening to books and movies, which makes it not all that surprising that once very big stores like Blockbuster and Borders have gone under. Once these stores are gone, so too are the jobs they provided to local economies.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
As much as I love Amazon.com, the reality is that you can order almost everything you want from that online store and that means, again, that local stores will suffer. There was a news clip on CNN about the problems UPS has had with delivering gifts during this holiday season (amounting to delays of perhaps a day or two). They interviewed one person “on the street” who noted most of the gifts arrived on time but one intended for him has yet to show up. While he wasn’t too worried about the delay, he noted “I don’t go to stores to buy anything anymore.”
A chilling statement to local retailers, for sure.
Another interesting comment:
Big business decisions will be made not be experts or intuition but by big data and predictive analytics
Virginia Rometty, CEO and chairwoman of IBM made this statement and it reminds me of another interesting thing I read, this time about sports and how metadata on athletes are beginning to be used/available to everyone.
The impact is clear: We’ll get a better understanding of all things (not just in sports) by analyzing bulk data. Will Product/Athlete X be a success? We can chart Product/Athlete X to an astonishing degree nowadays and will gradually come to a better understanding of what might work…and what will not. In sports, the effect on gambling should be quite interesting as we’ll have a far better chance of predicting winners and losers.
But also, with big data we can predict if a business or a product will make it as well. The old adage about Hollywood that “nobody knows anything” might eventually get turned on its head and movies may become better conceived and targeted for maximum profits.
However, where does this end? Will products become better or more and more average (or worse!)? After all, what everyone likes may well be something that is pleasing enough yet not all that great to begin with.
Anyway, enough of me. Give the list a look. There are plenty of fascinating quotes there to mull over.