Here are a few things not to be missed as you head into the next week:

1) First, read this brilliant, short piece by John Hagel: The Choice Ahead Regarding Digital Technology  “It will be up to us to ultimately determine how we use that digital technology. Will we use it to narrowly squeeze out all inefficiency in the work we do? Or will we use it to catalyze and amplify the imagination that makes us uniquely human and that could identify entirely new avenues to create fundamentally new sources of value”  Exactly what I am thinking about these days. Read and watch more about the issue technological nihilism, on my blog.

2) Om Malik just published this great piece with a very similar message: With Big Data Comes Big Responsibility  “It is the future where machines manipulate our wants and our desires and preempt our needs and emotions”.  Om echoes exactly what I meant to say just a few months ago when I commented on the potentially catastrophic unintended consequences of the Internet of Things

3) One of the worst ideas in the realm of ‘Intelligent Assistants' is definitely worth looking at: Barbie Wants to Get to Know Your Child (via the NYT) “As conversational technology improves, it may one day rival keyboards and touch screens as our primary means of communicating with computers — according to Apple, Siri already handles more than a billion spoken requests per week”  But my advise would be: don't let your child anywhere near a doll that pretends to be human – and is actually quite good at it.

4) If you crave a longer read on AI, Pew Research has some great predictions for the State of AI and Robotics in 2025, from a whole bunch of people that should know:). Or watch my video from an Envestnet event on ‘AI as a utility' in beautiful Kerala / India, a few weeks ago.

5) Talking about the future of (wo)man-machine relationships, you may be aware that I recently contributed a chapter about this very topic as part of “The Future of Business” book, edited by fellow futurist Rohit Talwar. As a special goodie for all my subscribers I have now recorded an MP3 version of this chapter and you can download or listen to it here, exclusively (sure, it's free). This link is only valid for 7 days, and yes, you can return the favour by buying the book, here (use discount code gl1), or just by spreading the word on social media (not about the MP3… the book). 62 futurists are sharing their insights here – and the printed book is large enough to be used for self-defense, as well 🙂

6) Frank Diana recently published a great piece on The Futures Agency blog aptly summarizing the key messages of a recent talk I held at the KPMG Executive Forum on Automation and Robotics in Chicago (the video is here): “if we allow technology to trump humanity, business would have no purpose”. That sums it up very nicely – thanks Frank!

7) I just added a bunch of very short videos i.e. 60-90 second excerpts culled from my recent keynotes, on my Youtube channel – if you want a quick Gerd-fix, take a look:)

8) Lastly, here is a great comment on VW and Dieselgate: “Tech companies use copyright threats to keep the security community in the dark about vulnerabilities in the devices we use every day” The Volkswagen Scandal Is Just the Beginning (via Medium.com)

Finally, if you want to know more about IoT business models, Slow Data, the Quantified Enterprise, Humanising Data, Privacy by Design, Connected Transport & Health, and the rise of the Internet of Touch, consider attending the IoT Shifts Conference on October 19-20 in Barcelona, organised by The Futures Agency partner Rudy de Waele. My newsletter readers can use the VIP_Gerd code for an exclusive 25% discount or use this direct link to benefit from this promotion.

Again, thanks for subscribing to this newsletter, and I hope to see you somewhere down the road.

Kind regards from Switzerland!