The World Transformed

Latest Episodes:

Keeping up with the Kardashevs Sep 17, 2016

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If there are aliens out there, we may have more luck finding the the ones who are a stage or two ahead of us. Phjil and Stephen review the Kardashev Scale and discuss its relavence to recent astronomical discoveries. Dyson Spheres Of Type III Civilization To Explain The Cosmic 'Supervoid' Alien Megastructure? 'Tabby's Star' Continues to Baffle Scientists A second Dyson sphere? Star EPIC 204278916 shows strange ‘flickering’ of up to 65 per cent An Interesting SETI Candidate in Hercules OTHER GEEK Star Trek 50th anniversary Not everybody happy: CBS and Paramount Royally Screwed Up Star Trek's 50th Anniversary History Channel Show is worth a look. WT 207-516

Thomas Frey Interview Part 2: Looking Ahead Sep 15, 2016

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Futurist Speaker Thomas Frey joins Phil and Stephen for a lively discussion about the distant future, including the impact of life extension, AI, and the technological singularity. Will the robots steal all our jobs? What kind of pain will we experience getting to a new economic model? will some people alive today be alive in the year 2246? Is the Technological Singularity a likely or inevitable event? What will be the ultimate fate of humanity? About our Guest: Over the past decade, Thomas Frey has built an enormous following around the world based on his ability to develop accurate visions of the future and describe the opportunities ahead. His keynote talks on futurist topics have captivated people ranging from high level government officials to executives in Fortune 500 companies including NASA, IBM, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies, and many more. Because of his work inspiring inventors and other revolutionary thinkers, the Boulder Daily Camera has referred to him as the “Father of Invention”. The Denver Post and Seattle Post Intelligencer have referred to him as the “Dean of Futurists”. He has been featured in thousands of articles for both national and international publications including the New York Times, Huffington Post, Times of India, USA Today, and many more. He currently writes a weekly “Future Trend Report” newsletter and a weekly column for FuturistSpeaker.com. WT 206-515

Thomas Frey Interview Part 1: The Next Ten Years Sep 13, 2016

Show notes

Futurist Speaker Thomas Frey joins Phil and Stephen for a lively discussion about the near future, beginning with a quick recap of his article, 72 stunning things in the future that will be common ten years from now that don’t exist today. Why put such a list together? Should we be focusing on the big changes or the little changes? Where will the biggest changes be coming from? Tune in and explore! About our Guest: Over the past decade, Thomas Frey has built an enormous following around the world based on his ability to develop accurate visions of the future and describe the opportunities ahead. His keynote talks on futurist topics have captivated people ranging from high level government officials to executives in Fortune 500 companies including NASA, IBM, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies, and many more. Because of his work inspiring inventors and other revolutionary thinkers, the Boulder Daily Camera has referred to him as the “Father of Invention”. The Denver Post and Seattle Post Intelligencer have referred to him as the “Dean of Futurists”. He has been featured in thousands of articles for both national and international publications including the New York Times, Huffington Post, Times of India, USA Today, and many more. He currently writes a weekly “Future Trend Report” newsletter and a weekly column for FuturistSpeaker.com. WT 206-515

The World Is Ours for the Printing Sep 10, 2016

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Phil and Stephen conclude their review of Thomas Frey’s 72 stunning things in the future that will be common ten years from now that don’t exist today -- this time adding their own analysis and scenarios for 3D printing 3D printed makeup for women. Just insert a person’s face and the machine will be programmed to apply the exact makeup pattern requested by the user. 3D printed replacement teeth, printed inside the mouth. Swarmbot printing systems will be used to produce large buildings and physical structures, working 24/7 until they’re completed. Scan and print custom designed clothing at retail clothing stores. Scan and print custom designed shoes at specialty shoe stores. Expectant mothers will request 3D printed models of their unborn baby. Police departments will produce 3D printed “mug shots” and “shapies” generated from a person’s DNA. Trash that is sorted and cleaned and turned into material that can be 3D printed. Plus Security applications -- Locks for which no key exists. Collectibles -- Print out this month’s collectible action figure or lego set. OTHER GEEK “Eye of the Tiger” on Dot Matrix Printer https://vimeo.com/58200103?outro=1 Join us! WT 205-514

VR and AR: Getting Real Gets Complicated Sep 08, 2016

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Phil and Stephen continue their review of Thomas Frey’s 72 stunning things in the future that will be common ten years from now that don’t exist today -- this time adding their own analysis and scenarios for VR and AR Theme park rides that mix physical rides with VR experiences. Live broadcasts of major league sports games (football, soccer, hockey, and more) in Virtual Reality. Full-length VR movies. Physical and psychological therapy done through VR. Physical drone racing done through VR headsets. VR speed dating sites. For education and training, we will see a growing number of modules done in both virtual and augmented reality. VR and AR tours will be commonly used in the sale of future real estate. Will we see dreary hotel ballrooms and meeting rooms begin to vanish in favor of much more exotic workshop and seminar locations: tropical beaches, polar tundra, outer space? Will we see the arliest instances of VR “vacations?” People spending 24 hours or more in a VR environment, essentially “living there” for a short period? Join us! WT 204-513

Future of Transportation: Attack of the Drones Sep 07, 2016

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Phil and Stephen continue their review of Thomas Frey’s 72 stunning things in the future that will be common ten years from now that don’t exist today -- this time adding their own analysis and scenarios for drone technologies Fireworks dropped from drones. Concert swarms that produce a spatial cacophony of sound coming from 1,000 speaker drones simultaneously. Banner-pulling drones. Bird frightening drones for crops like sunflowers where birds can destroy an entire field in a matter of hours. Livestock monitoring drones for tracking cows, sheep, geese, and more. Three-dimensional treasure hunts done with drones. Prankster Drones – Send random stuff to random people and video their reactions. Entertainment drones (with projectors) that fly in and perform unusual forms of live comedy and entertainment. Plus: Drones for rural and suburban mail retrieval. Personal transportation inspired by drones No Sailors Needed: Robot Sailboats Scour the Oceans for Data Join us! WT 203-512

Self-Driving Cars: Life in the Fast lane Sep 03, 2016

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Phil and Stephen continue their review of Thomas Frey’s 72 stunning things in the future that will be common ten years from now that don’t exist today -- this time adding their own analysis and scenarios for self-driving cars Queuing stations for driverless cars as a replacement for a dwindling number of parking lots. Crash-proof cars. Volvo already says their cars will be crash-proof before 2020. Driverless car hailing apps. Much like signaling Uber and Lyft, only without the drivers. Large fleet ownership of driverless cars (some companies will own millions of driverless cars). Electric cars will routinely win major races like the Daytona 500, Monaco Grand Prix, and the Indy 500. In-car work and entertainment systems to keep people busy and entertained as a driverless car takes them to their destination. In-car advertising. This will be a delicate balance between offsetting the cost of operation and being too annoying for the passengers. Electric car charging in less than 5 minutes. Phil adds: Sleeper cars -- a real threat to airlines? OTHER GEEK Suicide Squad is much better than Rotten Tomatoes score of 26%. What gives? Can we trust critics? WT 202-511

The Internet of Everything, All the Time Sep 01, 2016

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Phil and Stephen continue their review of Thomas Frey’s 72 stunning things in the future that will be common ten years from now that don’t exist today -- this time adding their own analysis and scenarios for amazing applications of the Internet of Things Smart chairs, smart beds, and smart pillows that will self-adjust to minimize pressure points and optimize comfort. Sensor-laced clothing. “Print and Pin” payment systems that uses a biometric mark (fingerprint) plus a pin number. Smart plates, bowls and cups to keep track of what we eat and drink. Smart trashcan that will signal for a trash truck when they’re full. Ownership networks. As we learn to track the location of everything we own, we will also track the changing value of each item to create a complete ownership network. Self-retrieving shoes where you call them by name, through your smartphone, and your shoes will come to you. Smart mailboxes that let you know when mail has arrived and how important it is. Phil adds -- (via Stephen) Smart toilet to monitor blood chemistry day to day WT 201-510

Health Tech Breakthroughs: Super Pills and Robo Doctors Aug 30, 2016

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Phil and Stephen continue their review of Thomas Frey’s 72 stunning things in the future that will be common ten years from now that don’t exist today -- this time adding their own analysis and scenarios for health technologies. Hyper-personalized precision-based pharmaceuticals produced by 3D pill printers. Ingestible data collectors, filled with sensors, to give a daily internal health scan and report. Prosthetic limbs controlled by AI. Real-time blood scanners. Peer-to-peer health insurance. Facetime-like checkups without needing a doctor’s appointment. Full-body physical health scanners offering instant AI medical diagnosis, located in most pharmacies Intraoral cameras for smartphones for DIY dental checkups. Phil adds -- Coffeeshopification of health care. Lose the infrastructure, make care massively more available. WT 200-509

The Robots: Taking Our Jobs, Writing Our Books, Treating Our Illnesses Aug 27, 2016

Show notes

Phil and Stephen continue their analysis of Thomas Frey’s 72 stunning things in the future that will be common ten years from now that don’t exist today - this time adding their own analysis and scenarios around AI. Best selling biographies written by artificial intelligence. Legal documents written by artificial intelligence. AI-menu selection, based on diet, for both restaurants and at home. Full body pet scanners with instant AI medical diagnosis. AI selection of movies and television shows based on moods, ratings, and personal preferences. Much like the last item, AI music selection will be based on moods, ratings, and musical tastes. AI sleep-optimizers will control all of the environmental factors – heat, light, sound, oxygen levels, smells, positioning, vibration levels, and more. AI hackers. Sooner or later someone will figure out how to use even our best AI technology for all the wrong purposes. Phil adds -- true conversational ui / computers that understand language OTHER GEEK Escape room in a box: “Escape the Room” Mystery at the Stargazer’s Mansion WT 199-508

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