Signals from the future:
Emerging trends that are likely to drive changes to the way we live, work and do business.
- Exclusive: Startup Plans Largest Ocean Geoengineering Plant - IEEE Spectrum - Innovative ocean geoengineering plant aims to combat climate change by converting CO2 to stable carbon storage, facing challenges and requiring renewable energy support.
- OpenAI Let Directors Make Short Films With Sora and the Results Are Wild - Futurism - Revolutionary text-to-video technology by OpenAI sparks awe and concern among creatives, showcasing both its impressive potential and unsettling limitations.
- Building with straw and hemp could seriously cut emissions - Futurity - Incorporating bio-based materials like straw and hemp in building construction can significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions, offering a sustainable solution for the future.
- Video Shows First Neuralink Patient Playing Mario Kart With His Mind - Futurism - Revolutionary brain-computer interface enables paralysed patient to play video games with mind control, showcasing Neuralink's potential amid controversy.
- Meatable can now transform cultivated cells into sausages in a record four days - Tech.eu - Revolutionising cultivated meat production with rapid cell differentiation, Meatable's innovative technology slashes costs and paves the way for mass-market availability.
- AI-generated digital twins of patients can predict future diseases - TNW | Deep-Tech - Cutting-edge AI tool Foresight creates digital patient twins for accurate health predictions, showing promise for personalised healthcare despite varying data accuracy.
- Nvidia announces AI-powered health care 'agents' that outperform nurses - Fox Business - Cutting-edge AI agents developed by Nvidia and Hippocratic AI offer superior performance and cost efficiency, addressing healthcare worker shortages with human-like patient interactions.
- Reflex Robotics: The Rising Star in Warehouse Automation - Impact Lab – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience - Revolutionising warehouse automation with advanced humanoid robots, Reflex Robotics aims to increase efficiency and reduce human intervention in logistics operations.
Focus Issue - Smart agriculture and the future of food security
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a critical approach to addressing the dual challenges of ensuring food security and combating climate change. With global food demand projected to increase by 50 percent by 2050, CSA focuses on sustainably increasing food production while managing landscapes like croplands, livestock, forests, and fisheries in a way that enhances productivity, resilience, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The World Bank has significantly ramped up its investment in CSA, aligning with the Paris Agreement and supporting countries in their sustainable agricultural transitions through the development of CSA Country Profiles and Investment Plans.
However, scientists argue that CSA must also prioritise the nutritional quality of crops to effectively address both food security and nutrition challenges in the face of climate change. Growing nutrient-rich crops that provide essential vitamins and minerals is crucial for combating malnutrition and improving public health. Initiatives like the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) Summit, co-hosted by the U.S. and UAE, further emphasise the importance of global food systems innovation and climate-smart agriculture in transforming agricultural systems to be more advanced, sustainable, and resilient.
Smart farming technologies, such as IoT, big data, and AI, play a vital role in optimising production, reducing resource use, and minimising environmental impacts. The EU's "Farm to Fork" strategy and various research projects like SIMPLe, "Tree Talker," HIGHLANDER, Agritech, and BIOservicES showcase the potential of these innovative tools and services in enhancing sustainability and climate resilience in agriculture. Additionally, the ACQUAOUNT project focuses on improving Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and sustainable irrigation in the Mediterranean region, while the SEBASTIEN project supports smart livestock farming and management in Italy.
The transition from traditional agriculture to Agriculture 4.0, driven by AI and deep learning, is another key aspect of ensuring food security in the future. The book "Food Security in the Economy of the Future: Transition from Digital Agriculture to Agriculture 4.0 Based on Deep Learning" provides insights into this transition, offering statistical data, mathematical tools, and international policy recommendations to improve food security and outline strategic directions for smart agriculture. Continued investments, such as USAID's $100 million commitment to the CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) and the establishment of new Feed the Future Innovation Labs, further support climate-smart agriculture innovation efforts and strengthen climate action in food systems.
The adoption of smart agriculture practices and technologies is crucial for future-proofing the global food system in the face of climate change. By prioritising sustainable production, nutritional quality, and innovative solutions, we can work towards achieving food security while mitigating the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture. Continued investment, research, and collaboration among governments, organisations, and stakeholders will be essential in driving this transformation and ensuring a resilient and sustainable food future for all.
Consider these strategic insights:
- Invest in Nutrient-Dense, Climate-Resilient Crop Development: Focus research and development efforts on creating crop varieties that are both nutrient-dense and climate-resilient, catering to the growing demand for nutritious food in the face of climate change. This could involve collaborating with research institutions and leveraging cutting-edge technologies like gene editing and precision breeding.
- Pioneer Regenerative Aquaculture Systems: Develop innovative, AI-driven aquaculture systems that prioritise regenerative practices, such as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), to sustainably produce high-quality, nutrient-rich seafood while minimising environmental impacts and enhancing climate resilience.
- Create Smart Agriculture Innovation Hubs: Establish regional innovation hubs that bring together farmers, researchers, tech companies, and investors to develop, test, and scale cutting-edge smart agriculture solutions tailored to Australia's unique challenges and opportunities. These hubs could also serve as incubators for AgriTech startups and foster a culture of collaboration and innovation.
- Develop AI-Powered Precision Livestock Management Platforms: Create advanced, AI-driven livestock management platforms that optimise animal health, welfare, and productivity while minimising environmental impacts. These platforms could integrate real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and automated decision support to help farmers make data-driven decisions and adapt to changing conditions.
Deep strategy:
Longer form articles rich with insights:
- Leading the future of work jacob morgan on top leadership trends for 2024 176303 - No origin title - Leaders in banking must embrace vulnerability, continuous learning, and human-centric technology to bridge the leadership gap and thrive in a post-COVID world.
- The Challenges of Becoming a Less Hierarchical Company - Harvard Business Review - Transitioning to a flatter organisational structure for collaboration and empowerment requires overcoming challenges in information flow and decision-making dynamics.
Business at the point of impact:
Emerging issues and technology trends can change the way we work and do business.
- In AI We Trust — Too Much? - MIT Sloan Management Review - Balancing human skepticism and emotional intelligence with AI advancements is crucial for fostering trust and safety in technology.
- Driving innovation with generative AI - McKinsey & Company - Innovation culture boosts business success through gen AI, driving growth, competitive advantage, and strategic differentiation in product and service development.
- Research: How Different Fields Are Using GenAI to Redefine Roles - Harvard Business Review - GenAI is transforming industries by enhancing creativity, problem-solving, and productivity through its analytical and generative capabilities, leading to increased organisational investments.
- The robot renaissance: How human-like machines are reshaping business - McKinsey & Company - Humanoid robots are poised to revolutionise industries through automation, potentially transforming the global economy and reshaping the future of work.
- What is artificial general intelligence (AGI)? - McKinsey & Company - Advancements in AI tools like ChatGPT are paving the way for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a transformative technology with vast societal implications.
