ASK ALAN — Are You Ready? — MetaTrends Revisited
Prior to the pandemic, it was anticipated that these twenty Metatrends would evolve over ten years. However, they are racing toward fruition at a pace faster than anyone could have imagined. This, due to the demands dictated by the pandemic. Paying close attention to these can help with your future business planning.What is a Metatrend?
According to Google, “Metatrends are the macro forces that are shaping our future. They are the phenomenon impacting all factions of human life across economic, political, social, and environmental disciplines.”
Peter Diamandis, a highly respected “futurist” and founder of “The X-Games,” believes that “these waves of exponential technological advancements will eclipse previous decades of breakthroughs in scale and impact.”
Diamandis says, “these Metatrends are resulting from human longevity, the surging smart economy, AI-human collaboration, urbanized cellular agriculture, and high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces, just to name a few.” Diamandis suggests that “Entrepreneurs and Business Owners see beyond the immediate implications of a given technology and capture the enormous business opportunities that lie on the horizon.”
Furthermore, Diamandis believes that these 20 emerging Metatrends will likely revolutionize entire industries (old and new), redefining tomorrow’s challenges, and transforming how we make money from the bottom-up.” I suggest you consider this information as you plan!
Ten Metatrends (of Twenty)
Number 1: Global abundance
“Continued increase in global abundance: Everyday goods and services are being digitized and becoming fully demonetized, available to the rising billion on mobile devices.”
This Metatrend will be driven by the convergence of high-bandwidth and low-cost communication. As a result, there will be growing access to AI-aided education and AI-driven healthcare. Perhaps Entrepreneurs and Small Business owners will consider expanding to include these areas.
Number 2: Global connectivity
“Global gigabit connectivity will connect everyone and everything, everywhere, at ultra-low-cost: The deployment of 5G, plus global satellite networks will allow for ubiquitous, low-cost communications for everyone, not to mention the connection of trillions of devices.”
Another reason for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners to think about expanding their markets, globally. Remember, the internet flattens the playing field for everyone. No one knows how large or small your business really is!
Number 3: Humans will live longer
“Human health span will increase by 10+ years: A dozen game-changing biotech and pharmaceutical solutions (currently in Phase 1, 2, or 3 clinical trials) will reach consumers this decade, adding a decade to the human healthspan.”
This sounds like an opportunity for Entrepreneurs and Small Business owners to focus on the geriatric market with more and enhanced goods and services.
Number 4: Capital abundance
“Capital abundance will see increasing access to capital everywhere: From 2016 – 2019, humanity hit all-time highs in the flow of seed capital, venture capital, and sovereign wealth fund investments. It is expected to continue its overall upward trajectory. $300 billion in crowdfunding is anticipated by 2025.”
So, if raising additional capital is your goal; now may be the best time to market your business plan to those funding business opportunities!
Number 5: Augmented reality
“Augmented reality and the spatial web will achieve ubiquitous deployment: This will transform how we live every day impacting every industry. Consumers will play, learn, and shop throughout the day in a new intelligent, virtually overlaid world.”
With the expectation of surging computer power, I suggest taking a few new computer courses to capitalize on this phenomenon. Now is the time to become a “life-long learner,” if you’re not already one!
Number 6: Everything is smart, embedded with intelligence
“The price of specialized machine learning chips is dropping rapidly with a rise in global demand. Combined with the explosion of low-cost microscopic sensors and the deployment of high-bandwidth networks, we’re heading into a decade wherein every device becomes intelligent.”
Your child’s toy remembers her face and name. The family drone safely and diligently follow, and videos, all the children at the birthday party. Appliances respond to voice commands and anticipate your needs. Consider all the new businesses that will form opportunistically to meet ‘upcoming’ needs.
Number 7: AI will achieve human-level intelligence
As predicted by technologist and futurist Ray Kurzweil, “artificial intelligence will reach human-level performance this decade. Through the 2020s, AI algorithms and machine learning tools will allow anyone with an internet connection to supplement their cognitive ability, augment their problem-solving capacity, and build new ventures at a fraction of the current cost.”
Now is the time for “OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING.” New Business Opportunities during the next ten years are staggering. Getting your arms around the wealth of opportunities may be daunting. However, not if you think of them as applications. FACT: Millennial Generation Entrepreneurs have the best chance to be WILDLY SUCCESSFUL. Why? Millennials have grown up in an “application-centric” world in a “technology-driven” environment.
Number 8: AI-human collaboration will skyrocket across all professions
The rise of “AI as a Service” will enable humans to partner with AI in every aspect of their work, at every level, in every industry. AIs will become entrenched in everyday business operations, serving as cognitive collaborators to employees—supporting creative tasks, generating new ideas, and tackling previously unattainable innovations.
AI partnerships will even become a requirement. For example: in the future, making certain diagnoses without the consultation of AI may be deemed malpractice. So, consider starting a new business in this area, where AI will be needed and used.
Number 9: Most individuals adapt a software shell to improve their quality of life
“As services like Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Homepod expand in functionality, such services will eventually travel beyond the home and become your cognitive prosthetic 24/7.”
Imagine a secure software shell that you give permission to listen to your conversations, read your email, monitor your blood chemistry, etc. With access to such data, these AI-enabled software shells will learn your preferences, anticipate your needs and behavior, shop for you, monitor your health, and help problem-solve.
Number 10: globally abundant, cheap renewable energy
“Continued advancements in solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, nuclear, and localized grids will drive humanity towards cheap, abundant, and ubiquitous renewable energy.”
As the world’s poorest countries are also the world’s sunniest, the democratization of both new and traditional storage technologies will grant energy abundance to those already bathed in sunlight.
Metatrends 11-20 will be published in my next column.
Understanding these Metatrends can help you with planning the future direction of your business.
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