From big data and analytics, to image recognition, voice recognition, emotion recognition and robots, AI is set to be part of our daily lives in new and unexpected ways.

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Shara Evans (Technologist, Futurist, Keynote Speaker and Self-Proclaimed Sci-Fi Geek) discusses her background, how she transitioned from technologist to futurist, and what sparked her interest in the Smart Community space.

What happens when you transplant the DNA of Silicon Valley into financial services firms?

It’s quite a big leap for a traditional HR division.

Are you responding to your customers’ needs as quickly as they’re adopting the technology that’s making your organisation obsolete?

The world of crypto currency is exciting, fast moving, and still a bit risky in terms of valuation, hacking of digital wallets and exchanges or losing your password (and access to your crypto account). In spite of these risks, early products such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and many other digital currencies are currently being used or trialled around the world.

Teaching organisations to look beyond today, and prepare for the emerging technologies of tomorrow.

There is a war for top talent and not everyone is going to be a winner. According to the 2017 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends report there are "widespread talent and skill shortages" making attracting the best talent a "top concern of business leaders." In this time of talent grab you need to ask:

What makes our organization stand out above the others?

You never hear job ads looking for people who can effect real change. Sure, there’s the ads seeking “ambitious go-getters”, or the old chestnut: “think outside the box”.

But that’s not really what they’re looking for.

The housing market has hit the wall.

After years of unrelenting strength, house prices are dropping. Not by much, at this stage, but the heat in the Sydney market in particular, has suddenly turned cold.

The fascinating and scary thing is that the price falls are increasingly widespread.

It's a bumpy ride ahead, says noted Australian economist Saul Eslake, but perhaps not as bad as it could be.

Property on the blockchain? Smart contracts and bitcoin-like management of decentralised property ownership is coming. And that's just the start.

Although consumer demand has driven the widespread adoption of online real estate listings, the mechanisms and processes of real estate have gone largely unchanged for decades - or longer.

That's all starting to change.

Disruptive technology isn't the only threat to the real estate industry. Technology's effect on people is where the most transformative disruption is taking place. Whether it's buyers, sellers or those providing services at every step of the real estate journey, technology is making people more connected, informed, empowered, demanding, impatient, even narcissistic.

Digitisation is reshaping the future of real estate.

Today's mobile interfaces have enabled buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants to make smart decisions in real-time... but that's just the beginning...

In this Future Trendspots video, futurist Anders Sörman-Nilsson gives us a glimpse into the future of real estate.

Flooded with options, where does one start when looking to purchase a property? The number one route is through word of mouth. Clever branding and a stellar experience can create endless strings of valuable leads. A few ingredients which I think would be essential, are:

Meaning is very quickly becoming the most powerful driver of engagement, fulfilment and performance in the workplace.

The movement towards meaning has been bubbling away for some time, but it’s still pretty misunderstood. A few years ago a major report from the Career Advisory Board made a couple of eye-opening findings. When asked, managers felt the most important factor for millennials was securing a high-paying job. But when that question was asked to millennials themselves - money was secondary. For millennials, meaningful work was the single most important factor in defining a successful career.

If you ask a banker what the biggest threat to their industry might be, the answer would likely be "blockchain"... the ominous-sounding technology that powers cryptocurrency and is proving something of a headache for banks trying to innovate their way out of the red tape of the past. 

But that's only half the story...

The business world is obsessed with millennials. Who they are, what they want, and how they perceive the world. Dr John Izzo believes that virtually no-one understands what really matters to millennials.

It's time for lenders to face their fears. It's a battlefield out there for lenders, where leadership and courage must go hand in hand for previously unassailable institutions to survive.

Matina Jewell outlines what's required of true leadership to face the challenges of the 21st century - and they're not that different from what's required of combat leadership.

It seems almost counter-intuitive that big-data could help financial services be more human, could connect them to the emotional needs of their customers. As banks strive to get away from their image as cold, unfeeling entities, the truly future-proof fintech thinkers are looking beyond demographics to solve the problem of a digital entity trying to understand the analog heart.

According to Havas Media’s Meaningful Brand index, consumers wouldn’t care if 75% of brands disappeared tomorrow. So, the real question is: is your brand one of the 75%, or the 25%?

This report draws on over a decade of trend forecasting to highlight the top 20 trends that will shape the next decade. Whether these trends become an existential threat or an exciting opportunity for your business will largely depend on your perspective and preparedness.

A brief comment on the role of meaning in a rich and fulfilling life.

Digital disruption, open marketplaces and the rise of entrepreneurship have created a whole new take on the war for talent. Millennial in particular are craving purpose more than just a pay cheque. To engage the best next generation talent and to create high performing teams, smart organizations must tap into the core of human drive for meaning and purpose.

Worldwide we are seeing how Millennials are reshaping the workplace. In many countries across the world millennials are surpassing GenXers as the largest generation in the workforce. One of the countries where we have seen dramatic changes during the last 10 years is Canada. 

With nearly 50% of the world's workforce to be comprised of Millennials in just a few years, they're a demographic your business can't afford to ignore.

As automation and AI threaten to decimate our workforce, forward-thinking business leaders are looking at ways to maximize the potential of human innovation within the framework of technology. John Sweeney has three actionable tips for businesses looking to innovate in an AI world.

2017 is very different from 2007. Social media, automation, buy-with-a-click, customer engagement, big data and the cloud are just some of the things that have, in just a few years, gone from being incredible to being normal. James O’Loghlin contests that it’s naïve to think the next 10 years won’t bring just as much change.

If you regularly follow some of my futurist musings you can probably tell that one of the areas that fascinates me the most is how technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Virtual Reality and Robotics will shape the future of work. In this post I'll give you an example of 5 white collar jobs that are at risk of being computerised in the near future.

Are you ready to give up control? The driverless car revolution promises to make our roads safer, reduce emissions and unclog our highways. But who's really in control? Michael McQueen takes a hard look at the future of our roads, and what it means for our autonomy, economy and safety.

Silicon Valley is coming for your industry. In this video-clip futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson explains the ways in which our business models are getting digitally hacked right now. Food for thought; what are the implications for healthcare and pharmaceutical healthcare companies?

During the last ten years I've been travelling around the world and speaking at a range of different conferences and strategy retreats. From my experience at various summits, conferences and events I've found the following points make a successful conference. In this article I share 7 essential tips on how to plan a successful conference.

We know that the future of work is changing, and for the ellusive 'millenials' motivators that worked in the past are quickly losing power. So how do you motivate and satisfy the needs of and get the best from this creative group who are so essential in our workplaces?

Blue sky thinking with your best and brightest isn't always the path to innovation breakthroughs. In this short video clip social futurist Kieran Flanagan explains why.

When a company is small and starting out, everyone has to be innovative. It’s a necessity. You need to innovate to survive, because everything is new. There are new challenges and problems every day, every hour, and a lot of time needs to be spent thinking about how to meet those challenges and solve those problems. Companies have to work out how to supply something of value to customers, how to market their goods and/or services, how to attract and retain the best people and a hundred other things. As they do this, they are being, by definition, innovative.

What does Seamless look like for the banking and finance industry?

In this short video, futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson shares some great insights into the Seamless customer journey as well as big data and cyber criminals - two disruptive trends that are set to shape the future of banking.

In this video-clip, futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson shares some key insights about big data, cyber criminals and the immense value of customer behavior data.

There can be absolutely no denying it, the way that the world works, relates, spends and saves money has fundamentally changed. This represents a huge opportunity for banks, financial services and anyone in the customer service space to start designing for the future. In this video-clip banking innovator, cofounder and president of Moven, Alex Sion introduces the 'new possible'. It's time to design a new North... are you ready?

To respond to the ever growing demand amongst my clients, I'm launching my new book Innovation Wars, with the pre-orders starting on May 2nd. After the success of my previous book Mobile Ready, I've chosen to partner with Publishizer to build the support to produce an amazing innovation tool. You can pre-order the book here.

Watch futurist Anders Sorman-Nilsson in this fascinating TEDx talk at San Juan Island. You have to create a culture of change in order to be ready for the future... 

I’ve been thinking about the issues that I’m likely to find myself talking about at conferences and events across the coming year. Here are ten things that I think are set to shape and shape the global and Australian economies during 2016.

If every aspect of your business isn't 'Frictionless' you will soon lose customers, just like Taxis are losing to Uber.

While disruption has been the business buzzword of choice recent years, the past 12 months have been an unprecedented and significant time for fundamental change in organisations.

When you drop a pebble in a pond the effect ripples out to the rest of the water, in the events industry the experiences we create are that pebble. It can be easy to forget, between meetings and briefs, that we are in the business of inspiring people - but we are, and it's a huge priviledge to be able to share the effect of these events with you.

Ever had a lightbulb blow and then not replaced it for weeks because getting to Bunnings was such a trek? Or have you run out of bread only to find your corner shop closed? These little annoyances are just part of life...until now.

In this revealing and educational interview with Wired Magazine, globally respected banking innovator Brett King talks banking trends and how he came to create the worlds first downloadable bank.

Are you looking for a new team member, one who is trust worthy, has excellent leadership potential, can think on his / her feet? Well step way from the recruiter and get signed up on World Of Warcraft.

The last handful of years have seen something of an epidemic of extinction in the business community. Looking at businesses failures ranging from Borders to Billabong, Kodak and music giant HMV, brands and industries are quickly realizing that business-as-usual is no longer be enough. Peter Drucker’s insight in the mid 1980s is truer today than ever before: we must now run faster and faster just to stand still.

In a recent UN/ICAO commissioned survey on the use of signatures in passports, a number of countries including the UK recommended phasing out the long held practice because it was no longer deemed of practical use. More significantly, however, is the emerging trend that has some parents, educators and lawmakers espousing their concern - when asked to sign most kids these days are simply writing their name - the art of the signature may soon be a lost art. A recent report in Gulf News disclosed that this is a global problem with kids in Canada, Tokyo, Hong Kong and elsewhere moving away from written signatures because they live their life through technology, but without the need to sign.

For anyone working in the technology sphere, you will know that your consumers are no longer confining technology to their work lives. People are demanding technological intelligence in every facet of their lives - from data around their workouts to a home that echoes the Jetson lifestyle we all grew up in awe of.

As consumer demands continue to disrupt the status quo, even the IT & technology industries aren't safe from becoming irrelevant. Gen Y's & Gen Z's are their own computer experts and will soon no longer require an 'expert' as they continue to become one themselves. So how does this dynamic industry protect itself & ensure it offers something that no consumer can replicate? Embrace the home!  As commuting becomes a thing of the past - the companies identifying & adapting to this need will truly thrive.