Former projects (2006-2009) - see homepage for current projects


Future of Life Sciences  Back to Top

Nexus of biology and computing image The next wave of the biotechnology revolution is underway and promises to reshape the world in ways even more transformative than the agricultural, industrial and information revolutions that preceded it. It is not uninimaginable that at some point, all biological processes, human and otherwise, will be understood and managed. Some of the most likely sources of life sciences discontinuities are genomic sequencing and synthesis, synthetic biology, nanoscience and aging.


Future of Technology  Back to Top

future of technology image The accelerating pace of technology creation and adoption is having considerable influence on both individuals and organizations. There may be an innovation with a greater impact than the Internet in the next fifty years. Potential technologies for revolutionary change include molecular nanotechnology, biotechnology and personalized medicine, synthetic biology, life extension and anti-aging therapies, robotics, artificial intelligence, intelligence augmentation, virtual reality, fabbing, quantum computing and affordable space launch.


Future of Economics and Alternative Financing Models  Back to Top

Abundance Economies image Innovation in market models is proliferating (examples: peer-to-peer capital markets, blended return and social capital markets, prediction markets), and business models are evolving (examples: free digital goods, freemium pricing models, open source offerings). However, despite any potential economic singularities resulting in a post-scarcity economy for material items, it is unlikely that there would be other than a qualitative improvement for humanity. Absent biological editing, the constructs and structures of human society are likely to persist.


Virtual Worlds Data Visualization  Back to Top

3D Stock Charts image

Making virtual worlds alive with information-aware manipulable objects and streaming data is an obvious next step. Some examples include virtual Network Operating Centers, energy consumption monitoring, weather data, air traffic control data and stock market data. The visual representation of information is becoming increasingly important and possible to execute with a variety of visualization, geospatial and virtual world tools.


Open Access Journals  Back to Top  (March 2008)

futures journal image Open access publishing has become the norm in science and medicine, and should be routine in all fields. The Open Access Journals project is seeking to establish an open access pre-print database and journal of future studies research articles, convince existing future studies journals to be open access via the Directory of Open Access Journals and other websites, and instantiate a futures publishing norm that includes academic papers, webcasts with slides, podcasts and short text summaries.

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