Interview, Fireside Chat
Building for Tomorrow with Jason Feifer
- 2023 is projected to bring significant change driven by indications from previous years.
- Technological sectors facing immediate pushback or requiring analysis include remote work, space exploration, autonomous vehicles, augmented/virtual reality, and biohacking.
- Specific future adaptations predicted include electric vehicles adding artificial engine sounds for familiarity and the elevator industry incorporating soothing female voices to improve user comfort.
- Success in evolving markets is predicted to require constant iteration, adaptability to failures, and the ability to identify new purposes for nascent technologies rather than focusing on initial imperfections.
- Innovators are expected to gain a competitive advantage by asking "what is this for" regarding new tools and being willing to pivot if their assumptions are incorrect.
- Traditional media figures are anticipated to remain fearful of being upended by new systems, potentially leading to alarmist reporting on technologies like A/B testing.
- Societal challenges such as Russian interference are expected to be viewed as broader than specific platforms like social media, meaning simple solutions like shutting down sites will be ineffective.
- A cultural tendency is predicted where people imbue innovations with personal or cultural anxieties, potentially causing moral panics over unrelated issues similar to the 1907 "teddy bear" crisis.
- The industry expects that while a definitive "killer use case" for AR, VR, or the metaverse has not yet emerged, new useful applications will eventually arise from the current noise and chaos.
- Biohacking is forecast to raise fundamental questions about the desired future of the world, though distinguishing between realistic advancements and hyperbolic concepts remains difficult.
- Space travel is expected to eventually find a true purpose for the average person beyond luxury "joy rides," although the specific nature of this utility cannot currently be anticipated.
- Remote work is predicted to continue being highly effective despite new challenges, with the expectation that new problems arising from this model will be superior to previous ones.
- Short-term issues, such as employee disconnection in a four-day work week, are viewed as solvable one percent problems rather than reasons to abandon the overall model.
- Historical failure modes, exemplified by Kodak, suggest companies risk missing disruptions if they define themselves narrowly by current products rather than their underlying purpose, such as "memories."
- Future technological balances are expected to be temporary, characterized by a non-stop series of problems and shifting dynamics.
- The speaker anticipates that adaptability serves as the primary guide for navigating career and life changes in the context of Build for Tomorrow.