This week in the future
The last silent digital bastion has fallen with the United States announcing that it will soon allow electronic devices to be used on-board aircraft during takeoff and landing, in the same week we have seen 300,000 gamers helping scientists undertake genomic research by playing Philo.
The world is definitely changing and in our radio segment this week David Dowsett and I chatted about these stories as well as Chinese scientists who have created internet access through light globes; a scientists that has invented a way to hear plants speak and communicate and another group of scientists who are 3D cataloging all the world’s great structures and digitally storing them should we ever lose the real thing and have to rebuild them from scratch.
Listen now
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What signals from 2014 were pointing toward the major shifts that arrived in the following decade?
The 2014 signals that proved most significant in retrospect include: AI research breakthroughs at DeepMind and Google Brain demonstrating that machine learning was approaching practical capability in perception and language tasks; Uber’s rapid international expansion signalling that platform business models could scale globally faster than regulatory frameworks could respond; the Internet of Things beginning to connect physical devices at scale; and the first commercial drone delivery tests pointing toward a logistics transformation that is still unfolding.
Q: How does weekly signal reading translate into better strategic decisions?
Weekly signal reading translates into better decisions through the accumulation of pattern recognition — the ability to recognise which type of change is occurring and where it is in its development arc. Leaders who have maintained a regular signal practice consistently make faster, more confident decisions about emerging situations because they have already processed the underlying dynamics when the signals were weak. The decision at the moment of urgency is easier when the preparation happened months earlier.
Q: What sources and disciplines should a weekly signal reading practice draw on?
A robust weekly signal reading practice draws on: technology research and product announcements; social and demographic data releases; economic and regulatory developments; academic research preprints in relevant fields; and cultural signals (what are people talking about, what is being funded, what is being protested). The breadth is important — the most interesting signals are often the intersections between domains rather than developments within any single field.
Q: How can I book Morris Misel for a foresight practice, strategic planning, or futures keynote?
Reach the booking team at morrismisel.com/event-organisers.
The last silent digital bastion has fallen with the United States announcing that it will soon allow electronic devices to be used on-board aircraft during takeoff and landing, in the same week we have seen 300,000 gamers helping scientists undertake genomic research by playing P.
The window between a signal arriving and it demanding a response is shortening. This week in the future is already shaping strategy conversations in forward-looking organisations. Treating it as a future concern rather than a present one builds a preparedness gap that will have to be closed under pressure.
The most important question is not whether This week in the future will matter, but how quickly it will matter in your specific context. Leaders benefit most from mapping the ripple effects early — not just the direct impact but the second and third-order consequences that arrive later and hit harder. That is the practical work of foresight.
