Tag: technology

The Most Important Skill of The Future

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Our world is changing rapidly. Everything is in a state of flux. What works well today may be ineffective tomorrow. The skill we need to survive an uncertain future is the ability to change gears.

  • Just think through the daily challenges we face in an omni-connected digital society. We must juggle between our online persona and our real world meat space personality and values
  • Navigate the impact of technology in the field we work and how this influences our future income streams
  • Adapt to new interpretations of language to more closely reflect a fluid society
  • Guess at how to interact with social media’s opaque algorithms for desired outcomes on digital tools
  • Relearn how to use constantly updating software
  • Continually re-establish ourselves on digital platforms to protect our brand reputation and connection to followers
  • Decipher organisational hierarchies and working norms reshaped by emergent generations
  • Figure out work-arounds in a volatile global environment with increasing costs of capital and supply chain risk

This list could be a 100 lines long. The one takeaway is that we can’t get too comfortable with the status quo. We need to embrace uncertainty and become accustomed to a state of flux.

The best way to prepare is to develop daily habits that are change-centric. We need to deliberately do things differently, so that it becomes second nature. This is less about technology and more about ourselves as people. By changing our approach, we cope better with rapidly changing technology. This is particularly important when we’ve been successful in business or work, because success hates change.

We all had to do this as a part of the COVID pandemic. Now it’s important that we don’t fall back into the habits of yesterday as work normalises. Personally, my TV show The Rebound would never have happened if COVID didn’t force my hand. Beyond that, there’s many things I do in my career that just don’t work as well as they used to. My Twitter account is a classic example. Engagement in that channel is now very low – change happened. Occasionally, I didn’t adapt as quickly as I should have.

Hack your future – change gears often

Hack your own mind to improve at changing gears by using different approaches to work and life. Treat different situations differently – adapt your style and messages in different forums. It forces an internal shift and helps you cope better with changes that are outside of your control. Kind of like CrossFit for the mind.

Here are examples of how I change gears:

My books and blog: Mostly about technology and its impact on business and the economy, my writing is where I flex my knowledge on the future, emerging technology and geopolitics. These are more intellectual forums for potential clients who want to scrutinise my work and be comfortable in the depth of my knowledge before they hire me in some capacity.

Media: In this forum (News, TV, radio), the gear I’m in is technology translator of the future. I want to show how I can explain the complex in simple terms. I also want the market to know I’m the go-to guy on anything tech and the future. I use the media to build confidence and brand awareness.

Keynote speaking: As the veteran of 500 keynotes in 14 countries, I often tell people that when you’re a keynote speaker, every day is a job interview. You don’t have the luxury of a bad day. In my experience of making speeches, the entertainment factor is more important than knowledge. How engaging you are is what gets you the next gig. However, unless you’re perceived to be an ‘expert’, you’ll never get that first gig. I focus on involving the audience, not talking at them. So it’s a gear that constantly oscillates between expertise and entertainment. In keynote speeches, I need to turn boring tech into something that electrifies a live audience.

Boardrooms: In this forum, my game is full-on economics. It’s about the impact technology has on future business strategies. My gear here is to use a strong financial dialect. It’s all about market capitalisations, price earnings ratios, revenue streams, cost infrastructure, disruptive technology and industry margins. The audience must immediately understand that I’m more than a technologist – I’m actually an economist by training, who just happens to have a deep understanding of technology.

Projects: My projects are all about getting my startup and innovation hat on – to show that I practise what I preach. I’m not an academic, but instead, a practitioner. I know it, because I’ve done it. My latest project is 3D printing a house with Tom from SlikBuild. Here it is all project managment.

Linkedin: This is where I share the work I’m doing. It’s uncomfortable to self-promote.. I aim to show others I’m doing lots of media, projects and keynote speaking. Here I want the masses to see what I’m doing, and that I’m in demand. My prospects will feel assured they are in good company when they hire me.

TikTok: This is my latest social media foray – and it is quite daunting and awkward. In every other digital forum, I have relatively sizeable followings. On YouTube, my videos have enjoyed over 12 million views. I’ve got 10k+ followers on LinkedIn and Twitter. But on TikTok, I am at total ground zero. I’m a beginner again. Two weeks ago, I started posting every day and even have a bet with my son that I can get to one million views by the end of the year. It’s very unlikely I’ll get there, but it’ll force me to upskill in short form video. Despite only having a measly 200 followers, I have posted two videos on TikTok which gained 10,000 views. TikTok has super high engagement levels, hence my investment in the channel. The gear here is one I rarely use in my work – it’s pure motivation and inspiration. I focus on teaching people life hacks to get more out of their career and money. It’s generally something I’ve avoided until now, but I think I have something to offer in this realm, so I’m putting myself out there to see what happens. Get on my TikTok here – it’s gold, baby!

If you can change, everything can change in your favour

Moving between gears doesn’t mean we throw out the skills we have. Instead, we should change how they are used and interpreted in our market segments. The more gears we regularly employ, the more future-proof we become, ready to respond to anything the market throws at us.

If you challenge yourself, you’d be surprised how many gears you can access in your skill base. By changing pace and thought patterns around your work, you’ll garner more respect in your industry, and make an investment in your future.

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Keep Thinking,

Steve.

Headlines from the Future

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

For your reading pleasure, I’ve included 10 headlines from the Future. While they seem unrealistic, they are all based on current and historical exponential improvements in these technologies. Every single one is a predicted reality – by scientists who work in these fields. Under each I’ve put a link or a little description for context as to why these headlines aren’t mere science fiction. Enjoy.

‘Robot performs first cancer surgery unaided by Doctors’ – 2027

Minimally assisted surgery is already here. It’s a relatively small step from here, not a leap, this timeline is possibly too long.

‘First synthetic human born’ – 2028

Artificial sperm and eggs have already been created to give birth to rats. Doctors say that synthetic babies are just a few years away, without the need for cloning. In addition 3D printed male sperm cells were recently created.

‘NanoTech foglets make food out of thin air! ‘ – 2045

I’ll start by saying foglets are tiny robots which can reorganise molecules. If robotics get small enough, and materials smart enough, we’ll be able to create everything from nothing. This is a great summary of how far we’ve come and why it seems inevitable to reorganise atoms eventually.

‘First human connects to internet via neural lace’ – 2037

Connecting a human to the internet, with information transactions occurring by thought has already been done. Now it’s simply a game of improving connectivity, computation, inference and resolution.

‘Brad Pitt’s new movie – 100% AI version of him’ – 2032

This is also probably an understatement – a good chance this will happen sooner. I don’t even have to provide a link of how good deep fakes have gotten. The way Tom Cruise is looking at 59, I’m not even sure that’s him! But we can be sure of this, they’ll be very few new movie stars, maybe we’ve minted our final batch, because big movie studios love nothing more than saving money by extending franchises, I’m sure they’d recycle actors too if they could!

*Bonus: Get 2 people to join my email list (this link) and get a 15 minute one on one mentoring session with me. Just reply email to this to tell me who joined thanks to you. I’ll change your life. Promise.

’60 year old gets 18 year old lung back with lab grown lung transplant’ – 2029

Just this week an ear which was 3D printed with bio ink was transplanted onto a human using their own cells to form it. The path from here is actually quite proximal and linear.

‘First ever full human brain simulated in cloud’ – 2028

Side note: we are by stealth, right now storing our lives, memories, plans, ideas, relationships, knowledge and work in the cloud…. But at a deeper level work is being done to upload entire humans minds.

‘World eats more meat grown in labs than farms’ – 2040

For starters, this process is already possible. The world’s first lab burger cost a cool $330,000. Since that time the cost of production of ‘lab meat’ has declined significantly. Today it costs around $6000 for a quarter-pound of beef and by 2024, it is estimated that the cost of a meat patty could be as low as $5 – not far off an acceptable cost for a gourmet patty these days. It’s important to note, that lab meat is the exact same molecular structure. You will not be able to know, see or taste the difference. While this might sound crazy, 50 years from now killing an animal to eat it, will be regarded as worse than slavery.

‘Renewable energy greater than 50% of global usage’ – 2029

It’s already above this is many countries. Australia, a renewable laggard already has 29% of all electricity and 24% of all energy usage from renewable sources. Pure economic forces will drive this. Free energy is a very enticing price.

The net out take should be this: It is easy to forget how many technological advances we take for granted today: a light switch, a car, air travel, air conditioning, TV, satellites. This is before we get radical and consider things like AI, 3D printing and crispr. Even the internet and a smart phone were literal science fiction when I grew up, and yet, here we are.

If you want to navigate the future, it pays to remember, that something is impossible, right until the moment it happens. Believing in ‘fantasy‘, isn’t just fun, it gives us a chance to participate in its creation.

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Keep Thinking,

Steve.

You’re Not Ready

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

A Marketing Director once told me, “You’re not ready yet, Steve. You need another 12 to 18 months in your current role.”

I took it in good faith. The conversation was regarding my filling a Marketing Manager role, a step up the corporate ladder from where I was. Then the next week, it was announced the person who was taking the job came from sales and had zero brand marketing experience. That was when I learned what the Marketing Director really meant.

“We don’t want to give it to you, Steve. We like this other bloke more…but we’ll tell you something digestible for now.”

Whenever anyone tells you that you aren’t ready yet, it can mean a lot of things – but it has nothing to do with being ready. Why’s that? Because no one is ever ready for anything.

Before anyone is given a chance to shine in a new role, there must be a leap of faith from someone, somewhere. Inside corporations, a great myth is perpetuated by managers that workers win their roles based on qualifications and experience alone. Mostly, managers give opportunities to the people they like, who went to the same school, follow the same football team, wear the right clothes. Someone not too different to them. It’s rarely about competence. If the game of corporate snakes and ladders were about competence, there’d be far fewer instances of CEOs pocketing $10 million to go away quietly because they did a terrible job. The corporate game is very different because what powers its success, the infrastructure, already exists. Most managers are simply riding it.

I haven’t been ready for any of the important milestones and projects I’ve done in my life. But I worked it out as I went along. Unless we are talking about something serious like flying a plane, engineering bridges or performing surgery, being ready is a corporate hoax. Ninety nine times out of a hundred, what needs to be learned can only happen once you are actually doing it. The mistakes we make literally becomes the readiness requirement.

When I built this with Raul, I had no idea what I was doing.

When I wrote my first book, The Great Fragmentation, I had never done that before.

When I wrote the first scripts for The Rebound and appeared on the TV screen, I wasn’t ready.

And now, I’m not ready to 3D print a house with Tom – but I’m doing it anyway.

I have never been ready for anything, and neither will you. So don’t believe them, and don’t wait for it. If someone tells you are not ready yet – it is time to leave.

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Keep Thinking,

Steve.

Touch Down – Super Bowl hits & misses

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

It’s very difficult for standup comedians to maintain their edge once they become super stars. It’s not that they stop being funny people, or lose their stage mojo, it’s that they often lose touch with their audience. It’s hard to relate to ‘the people’ once you drive a Ferrari and live in a mansion. Their stories and anecdotes become distant, even foreign. The same thing happens to successful companies and it’s happening to Meta.

This week the Super Bowl happened in the USA. The capstone event of not just American Football, but advertising. At US$7 million for 30 seconds – it’s quite an investment. Despite US centricity, it also serves as a barometer for technology and the global economy. You can see all the ads here.

As expected we saw adverts for snacks, beer and automobiles. The latter was all about our all electric car future. In the US, electric cars are 9% of sales, yet they are getting close to 100% of the attention. By my reckoning, we’ll all be driving electric long before government regulations make it mandatory. There was even an advertisement for an electric car charger! In Australia alone, this install market is a AUD$40 billion opportunity (20m cars @ $2000 per charger). And yes, every car will have its own charger.

Dropping the ball

Big budgets doesn’t always translate to great stories. Two of the tech titans, Meta and Amazon, had terrible advertisements. Their ads felt like public service announcements of why we need to be suspicious about them. I’ll start with Meta. If you haven’t seen their Super Bowl advertisement already, watch this, and I’ll see you in 60 seconds….

Here’s my outtake:

“When the real world really blows – just sub into the metaverse”.

Is that a subliminal message from the Zuck himself? Is he admitting his contribution to the decline of civilisation? It seems his most loyal lieutenants didn’t have the courage to tell him he’s lost touch.

Now onto Uncle Jeff’s empire, Amazon. Their ad, which can be seen here was unironically called Mind Reader. It features Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost using their Alexa. This one is kinda real, and even a little funny, but mostly unsettling. While the device can’t quite mind read yet, the biggest fear most people have about always-on, always-listening devices like Alexa is that the system is gathering far more personal information than we want. Another great antidote to buying what they are actually selling.

If you ever wanted a clear idea, then Coinbase delivered. While they are not about to win any story telling or creative awards for this piece, it was very clever. Running a floating QR code for 30 seconds at a cost of US$7 million has to be the most single minded marketing proposition of all time…. and people took action. It had a whopping 20 million hits within 1 minute. A twenty percent success ratio – unheard of in advertising in the modern era.

The Touchdown!

For me the touch down went to Salesforce. Their ad took a shot across the bow of their technology brethren. While every other tech firm and billionaire seems to be trying escape from the messiness of earth to mars or the metaverse – Salesforce had this message. Brilliant.

One of the most promising brand plays today is to tell people how and why you don’t act like big tech. There’s a real movement against them, and it’s gathering pace. It’s going to be a long war before we get back our data, our humanity and long needed regulation – but in the interim, not doing many of the things they do, and telling people about it can be a bankable strategy.

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Keep thinking,

Steve.

Everyone will own NFTs

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Art is just the start. By the end of this decade everyone reading this blog will own a large number of NFT’s. But they won’t be digital art, they’ll be part of a new combined commerce market where digital and physical properties permanently overlap and interact. But from now on it will serve you well to read the words ‘Smart Contract’ whenever you see the acronym NFT. Buckle in – we are about to get the missing link to the Internet we were promised in the mid 1990’s.

When it comes to market growth, NFTs are the clear winner of 2021. This year sales topped $A12.7 billion which represents a 2,500 per cent jump on 2020. These have largely been made via the Ethereum crypto currency and blockchain which, if anything, points to the importance of this crypto because it is “Turing Complete”. This means that the currency is actually programmable, like a computer. Bitcoin can’t do this. Ethereum will be the crypto which becomes the fabric that holds together the smart contract economy.

In 2021, Ethereum had a 700% increase from $US591 exactly one year ago, compared to Bitcoin which rose by, a still heady 266%. While the value of NFTs is crazy big, I can’t help but think that NFT sales wouldn’t be nearly as high if people were buying in fiat currency. Buying them in Crypto (Ether), must feel a little bit like spending ‘found money’ – especially if you’ve held the crypto for some time.

But let’s not let the NFT bubble (and it is a bubble), detract from the long game. The functional use cases for NFT’s which will emerge and change everything. I’ve listed below some use cases which are quite mainstream – to stimulate the mind on where this can, and will go. What we need to remember about NFT’s is that “Non-fungible” more or less means that it’s unique and can’t be replaced with something else. It serves a unique purpose and will in the future be programmed to automate in market transactions related to the NFT.

Property Rights: Your house title will be an NFT. It will state who owns (owned) the property, mortgage details, rates and other legal details. All people involved in a property: the owner, the financier and the Government will have access to data related to the property via private keys. This will reduce administration and costs and keep the details secure. Contracts for this property will automate payments between parties. Similarly, rental agreements will become NFT’s and data related to the rental including property conditions will be baked into the blockchain to avoid disputes.

Digital Identity: NFT’s will be used as a means for issuing important documents. Things like passports, driver’s licenses, IDs, health records, education credentials and the like, could all be tokenized and get their digital representation in the form of NFTs. Doing so would allow the authorities to check the validity of the document by seeing whether or not it is connected to an official NFT. With this, forged passports and IDs would be practically extinct, which would likely lead to a major disruption of all kinds of criminal activities around the world.

Events: Many consumer goods we purchase in the future will have NFT’s attached to them which give us access to events. Buying the latest album from your favourite performer may include an NFT which automatically gives you concert tickets in the front row., or even a back stage pass. All sold for a premium to super fans, or early adopters, or even speculators! Buying a this years premier league jersey of your club might entitle you to a seasons ticket to each game. Or a haute coutere dress could get you into an exclusive fashion show. It could even get more interesting than that – imagine an NFT becoming shares in a concert where the NFT owners underwrite the cost for Drake’s next world tour and those who buy the NFT’s share in the profit. All of this is possible.

Loyalty: The simple and classic example is frequent flyer miles. In many ways this system already operates much like NFT’s can. But, in the future there will be a market where we can trade our loyalty. I currently have more than 1 million frequent flyer points (sad I know) – I can’t use them all – in an NFT market place I might be able to sell 100,000 points to someone who wants to fly business class to London and receive $5000 for it. The buyer might get the flight and half the price and I’ve made some cash. It will be game changing technology for brands and loyalty.

Subscriptions: In this realm subscriptions can go well beyond streaming services and online news. Imagine a subscription coming with your next new car. Not only do you get the car – but you get access to certain ride sharing services simply by using your NFT. A car won’t just be a car – it will be a mobility service.

It’s Tricky: NFT’s will really shake up how intellectual property and contract law works the world over. The Hollywood studio Miramax recently filed a lawsuit accusing the director Quentin Tarantino for copyright infringement for his plans to sell NFT’s based on the screenplay for his 1994 movie “Pulp Fiction.” Tarantino’s NFT’s include a collection of seven uncut “Pulp Fiction” scenes as secret NFT’s, meaning their content would be hidden except to the owner. The content includes the first handwritten scripts of “Pulp Fiction” and commentary from Mr. Tarantino “revealing secrets about the film and its creator,” according to the release. Miramax contended it had certain “broad rights” to “Pulp Fiction” because the director had “granted and assigned nearly all of his rights” to Miramax in 1993. It will be interesting to see how this and cases like it, get resolved.

The Future: The reality is that buying anything physical can should come with a digital token (NFT). Even if it is unknown how the token might be used in the future, smart companies should start adding them their product portfolio now. The functionality can be added later. Likewise, anyone selling digital or virtual goods should be adding NFT’s, which at some point could get something physical added to it.

My advice is simple, pay attention to this space. Experiment and be the seller. Most of what is being bought today will be worthless tomorrow, but those who seize the real smart contract opportunity could invent something which changes industires.

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Keep Thinking,

Steve.

Programmable Currency is coming

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

China’s 2021 crackdown on crypto currencies has continued unabated. They’ve now banned all types of Crypto transactions. But don’t be mistaken, China wants nothing more than to move to a crypto economy. The Digital Yuan – their own Crypto.

Currency Creates Control

It is said that you need control the three M’s to capture and control a society. The Media, the Military and the Money. The loss of control of any of these elements can lead to destabilisation of a Government. China is clearly intent on having a firm grip on all three. I’m with China on this one. Any government in the world that moves to a non-sovereign currency (Like El Salvador has making Bitcoin its national currency), will lose control of its economy. That’s not to say we shouldn’t have crypto – just Government issued Crypto. And the reason is simple – crypto currency technology, has many features fiat currency does not. While we may not like China’s policies and record when it comes to human rights – they are out performing other global powers when it comes to economic and geo-political strategy.

The Birth of Programmable Currency

One of the main features of blockchain based crypto currencies is their potential to be digital, yet anonymous. They key word here is potential, because the direct opposite can also be true. The Digital Yuan features what is known as ‘Controllable Anonymity’ given that it will require citizens to register and download the central bank app on their smartphone. But it doesn’t end there. The currency will literally be programmable. The China Government will be able to not only ‘air drop‘ money into people’s accounts, but they will have the ability to easily freeze and close accounts – something which can’t be done with, let’s call them ‘democratic’ crypto currencies.

This is where the move to the Digital Yuan gets interesting. They won’t just be able to control their currency distribution digitally, they’ll also be able to define where and when it can be spent. It will enable China to have a level of control over their monetary system not seen in the history of currency. Transfer payments will take on an entirely new meaning. When economic stimulus is required, they’ll be able to set expiration dates on money transferred to ensure it is injected into the economy and not saved. If it is not spent by a certain date it will literally evaporate from people’s digital wallets. They’ll be able to dictate where certain amounts money can be spent. Grants for students or unemployment may only be able to be spent on groceries, rent and transport for example. If a wallet is presented for payment to an unauthorised type of vendor, the transaction will be declined. They’ll be able to shape spending and investment in a way the global economy has never seen. It will give them an inordinate economic advantage on a global scale. And while it does sound slightly dystopian, it is clearly aligned to all their other economic policies we’ve seen recently as they tighten their grip on their ever-wealthier populace.

Non-Fungible Currency

While it’s not my hope that Australia moves over to a system like this in totality – a more democratic version of programmable currency is an incredibly powerful idea. Countries like Australia and the USA could create incredible productivity via programmable currencies.

Let’s take Job keeper. As published via the independent Parliamentary Budget Office’s analysis –the Morrison government paid $12.5 billion of JobKeeper in the scheme’s first 13 weeks to firms that didn’t experience the turnover declines they forecast in order to qualify for it. Extrapolated to the full 26 weeks of JobKeeper 1.0, that amounts to $25 billion of taxpayers’ money misspent. Around $9 billion was paid to firms whose turnover not only failed to decline as forecast, but actually increased.

This overspend could have been avoided if we could code into the money that it could only be used in wages and salary. We could also remove amounts from their accounts post-hoc once it was clear the firm didn’t face a decline. We could also make sure jobseeker benefits have restrictions on where funds can be spent, which protect the sanctity of the system. We could direct future stimulus payments into preferred economic sectors.

In the future, we’ll all have crypto wallets with two balances – money we can spend as we choose, and restricted funds. The eventual upside is that we’ll enter a pre-emptive tax code – a code where money is directed before it is collected. We won’t re-allocate money after it’s earned, but pre-determine where it can go. This will be something corporations will be able to do with their employees and spending budgets, no purchase will order would be required when money can be programmed on where it can be spent in the first instance. Even parents will be able to use this with their children – restricted handouts if you will.

This fundamentally changes what currencies can do and are. It’s clear that this is a big shift – and it won’t suit everyone, but it is my belief that most economies around the globe will move to Sovereign Cryptos (AU-c / US-c) and remove cash entirely from the economy within the 2020’s.

When this happens, we can also expect traditional cryptos to take the place of cash – and be the bastion of the hidden economy and dark money, and tradies doing crypto cash jobs – humans always find a way to hack any system!

Having money which isn’t fungible really marries up with the shift to increased control and autocracy the world over. What we need to ensure is that this shift doesn’t leak into the free market and remains a tool for more efficient Government resource allocation.

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Keep Thinking,

Steve.

NFT to TV Star

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

So here it is: my latest world first! As part of The Rebound TV show, we are selling the final episode of Series Two as an NFT. This is the first ever Australian TV show to be sold as an NFT.

Here’s the kicker: The winning bidder of this NFT will also become part of the next series of The Rebound. We call it NFT to TV Star! We will mentor them in their business or career, as part of the Accelerator programme on Series Three and broadcast nationally in Australia. This NFT will be someone’s ticket to TV stardom and a new financial trajectory.

You can buy this NFT on Rarible.com – check out the NFT here. Heck, why not bid on it? At the time of writing, it’s a mere 10% of 1 Ether (around $323 USD). I’d love to have one of my readers win it and come on the show – that’d be rad.

As you may know, NFTs are tokens of digital assets. The cool part is that you can attach other entitlements to these tokens – all of which are verifiable on the Ethereum blockchain. In this case, the buyer wins the token to our Crypto episode, as well as the right to actually appear on the show. But it doesn’t end there. The person who buys it can sell the NFT to someone else, or even a company looking to promote their business (a TV show would be a pretty good place to do that). So the NFT could also become a traded asset that increases in value before a smart contract is executed against it.

Bonus: You can buy this experimental NFT gif here. It also comes with an hour long mentoring session from me or Tommy. I have already sold four of these this week. Only one is left! I have listed it at a very reasonable price of 0.01 Ether (around $30, the minimum listing price). It’s a good way to dip your toe in the water to experiment with the tech and learn – which is what I did. Get on it and chat NFT / future stuff with me!

This is a nice example of how we can better use digital assets by attaching real physical things and future contracts to them. The world is getting increasingly meta. This means the most important asset isn’t the technology itself, but how we apply our imagination to it.

Keep Thinking,

Steve.

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