Insights January 7th, 2022

We’re back after a short hiatus away from publishing this newsletter. Thank you for sticking around!

2021 was an incredible year – you can read more about that here – and I stepped away to finish the first draft of my book ‘Facing Our Futures’ due out in late-2022 on Bloomsbury.

In this week’s CEO Futures Briefing we look at China manning the India border with killer robots, the French ban on plastic packaging, VW’s EV bidirectional charging, 2022 trends from Nikolas, Ameca’s most realistic humanoid robots, and Timelapse Of Future Technology.

Also featured is an insightful interview on the Exponential Minds Podcast with Dr. Jake Sotiriadis who speaks about pushing against the tyranny of the now and the power of ideologies.

To receive this, and other important insights into the future, then please sign up to Nikolas’ newsletter here.

If you have questions about these things we’re sharing, or a challenge with seeing the futures for you and your organization? Reach out to speak with Nikolas today to arrange a time to talk.

Three articles to read to watch

As its soldiers struggled, China is manning India border with killer robots

China is deploying machine gun-carrying robots to the western desert regions of occupied Tibet amid its ongoing standoff with India because its troops were struggling with the high-altitude conditions there, reported the dailymail.co.uk and other reports Dec 29. China is one of the world’s most aggressive countries in manufacturing automation, with its robot density being already on a par with that of the US, reported the scmp.com Dec 29, citing a recent international report.

Beijing was stated to have sent 88 Sharp Claws to Tibet, with 38 of them deployed to the India-border region, India’s Times News Now has said. It added that some 120 Mule-200s had also been sent to Tibet, with a majority of them deployed to the border area.

Read more at Tibetan Review

French ban on plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables begins

A new law banning plastic packaging on most fruit and vegetables comes into effect in France from New Year’s day. Cucumbers, lemons and oranges are among the 30 varieties banned from being wrapped in plastic. Larger packs as well as chopped or processed fruit will be exempt.

President Emmanuel Macron called the ban “a real revolution” and said it showed the country’s commitment to phase out single use plastics by 2040.

More than a third of fruit and vegetable products in France are thought to be sold in plastic wrapping, and government officials believe that the ban could prevent a billion items of single use plastics being used every year.

In a statement announcing the new law, the Environment Ministry said that France uses an “outrageous amount” of single use plastics and that the new ban “aims at cutting back the use of throwaway plastic and boost its substitution by other materials or reusable and recyclable packaging”.

Read more at BBC

VW ID. models to get faster charging and bidirectional charging

Having accelerated its push into electrification, the Volkswagen Group is already unlocking more technologies for its ID. range as well as investing in further green energy options and second-life battery infrastructure. Said Elke Temme, CEO of the Group-owned charging and energy business Elli, “Our goal is to ensure that an electric vehicle is capable of being a customer’s primary car – without any compromises. That is why we are building a complete charging ecosystem, with residential charging solutions and a rapid expansion of the fast-charging infrastructure required for mobile charging, as well as competent advice, comprehensive charging tariffs and the right fleet solutions for business customers.”

The automaker says all ID. models with the 77-kWh battery are going to be able to charge bidirectionally — accepting energy from a source, and charging a separate energy storage system like a wallbox plugged into a home energy system. That capability will come via an OTA update. VW will sell special bidirectional DC wallboxes for home use. Another software revision and OTA update will increase the charging capacity of the 77-kWh ID. battery from 125 kW to 135 Kw for standard models, and up to 150 kW for the racier ID.5 GTX. We’re told the boost cuts charging times by up to nine minutes when charging from 5% to 80%. There will also be a new Battery Care Mode that caps battery charge at 80%; VW didn’t say if this would be an owner-selected mode, or a fixed setting in the car.

VW also wants more green power, with plans to build 20 new wind and solar farms around Europe by 2025 producing as much as seven terawatt-hours of electricity, as well as energy management and storage solutions to keep the green energy from going to waste. The company said that in Germany in 2019, 6,500 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy went to waste, enough to power 2.7 million electric cars for a year.

Read more at AutoBlog

Three videos to watch

2022 TRENDS – Future of Retail, Work, Cities, and Money with Nikolas Badminton

Futurist Nikolas Badminton chats with Jeff Sammut on SIRIUSXM’s Canada NOW about his trends to watch for 2022 – Retail goes dark , work gets flexible, new tech cities will be unveiled, and central banking will be shaken by the introduction of a new competitor to the dollar.

Ameca and the most realistic humanoid robots.

Ameca’s incredible skills are part of a huge leap for AI Robots. The robot from Engineered Arts is a taste of the future Boston Dynamics and Tesla. Elon Musk is building a real Matrix, almost like The Matrix movie.

Timelapse Of Future Technology: 2022 – 4000+

The journey to see future technology starts in 2022, when Elon Musk and SpaceX send the first Starship to Mars – beginning the preparations for the arrival of the first human explorers. 

We see the evolution of space exploration, from NASA’s Artemis mission, humans landing on Mars, and the interplanetary internet system going online. To the launch of the Starshot Alpha Centauri program, and quantum computers designing plants that can survive on Mars.

On Earth, tech evolves with quantum computers and Neaulink chips. People begin living with bio-printed organs. Humans record every part of lives from birth. And inner speech recording becomes possible. 

And what about predictions further out into the future, when humans become level 2 and level 3 civilizations. When NASA’s warp drive goes live, and Mars declares independence from Earth. Will there be Dyson structures built around stars to capture their energy. Will they help power computers that can take human consciousness and download it into a quantum computer core? Allowing humanity to travel further out into space.

A conversation that counts

Each week we dig into the archives of all of the interviews Nikolas has undertaken with the insightful and entertaining Exponential Minds Podcast. This week we feature a chat with Dr. Jake Sotiriadis who speaks about pushing against the tyranny of the now and the power of ideologies.

The last word…

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”

Plato

About Nikolas Badminton

Nikolas Badminton is the Chief Futurist at futurist.com and a world-renowned futurist speakerconsultant, researcher, and media producer. He helps trillion-dollar companies, progressive governments and the media shift their mindset from “what is” to “WHAT IF…” The result is empowered employees, new innovative products and incredible growth that leads to more revenues and a more resilient future.

Nikolas advised Robert Downey Jr.’s team for the ‘Age of A.I.’ documentary series, starred in ‘SMART DRUGS – a Futurist’s journey into biohacking’, and features on CTV, Global News, Sirius XM regularly. His mind-expanding research and opinion can be found on BBC, VICE, The Atlantic, Fast Company, Techcrunch, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Forbes, Sputnik and Venturebeat. 

Nikolas provides the opening chapter – ‘Start with Dystopia’ in a new book – ‘The Future Starts Now: Expert Insights into the Future of Business, Technology and Society’ on Bloomsbury. His new book ‘Facing Our Futures’ is due out in 2022 on Bloomsbury and equips executives and world leaders with insights and foresight tools to imagine disruption, strengthen strategic planning, and see unforeseen risks.

Nikolas is a Fellow of The Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce – The RSA. The organization has been at the forefront of significant social impact for over 260 years with notable past fellows including Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela, and Tim Berners-Lee.

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Futurist Keynote Speaker and Consultant - Nikolas Badminton

CEO of EXPONENTIAL MINDS and an award-winning Futurist Speaker, researcher and author. His expertise and thought leadership will guide you from complacency to thinking exponentially, planning for longevity, and encouraging a culture of innovation. You will then establish resiliency and abundance in your organization. Please reach out to discuss how he can help you, and read on to see what is happening in the world this week.

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