Speaking

Every year, I choose 10 emerging technologies that have the potential to transform business and society. The technologies are drawn from a wide variety of fields, including computing, biotechnology, energy, and materials. I identify the innovators responsible for a breakthrough and provide a timeline for commer­cial­iza­tion. I describe the problem the breakthrough solves; take apart the solution using clear, everyday language; and explore the likely impact for your organization. 

Emerging technologies and new science are being turned into disruptive, commercial products and services at an unprecedented pace. Many of these new products are based on breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, gene editing, and materials science. For executives navigating business and life, it can seem impossible to keep up with the latest ideas and their potential impact. Fortunately, there is a proven methodology, followed by most venture capitalists who invest in fundamental advances, for distinguishing between hype and reality. 

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated a transformation in how people work, driven by the rapid evolution of online work environments, artificial intelligence, robotics, and data analytics. No one knows what work be like when we return to our offices, labs, factories, or stores, but almost every job and industry will be touched by the coming age of machine intelligence and automation; cities and factories won’t look the same. I will explore the present and future of workplace technologies in a presentation customized to your organization and industry.

Andrew Ng, founder of Google Mind, suggests the impact of the revolution in AI this way: ​“If a typical person can do a mental task with less than one second of thought, we can probably automate it using AI either now or in the near future.” Most jobs and industries will be transformed by machine intelligence. More remarkable still is what’s next: quantum computers, which manipulate qubits — particles like photons or electrons — instead of bits. Given enough functional qubits, a quantum algorithm could solve practical problems that conventional computers couldn’t solve with all the time in the universe. I’ll explain how AI and quantum computing will affect your business. 

The 21^st century will be the biological century. Fundamental and surprising discoveries about the human genome and the microbiome (the microbial life that evolved with us, which lives in and on our bodies), in combination with new techniques in artificial intelligence and gene-editing, are providing unprecedented insights into human health and disease. We are learning why cells pass from health to disease, how our brains learn, why we age, and much more. I will guide your organization through the transformative possibilities of the revolution in life sciences and its potential impact on our society and our lives.