THE EXTREME FUTURE (Part 1) - UTM

TITLE: 

THE EXTREME FUTURE 

‘THE TOP TRENDS THAT WILL RESHAPE THE WORLD IN THE 

NEXT 20 YEARS’ 

Author: 

James Canton, 

CEO and Chairman, Institute for Global Futures 

Reviewer: 

Professor Ir. Dr. Mohd. Azraai Kassim 

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) 

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 

www.utm.my innovative . entrepreneurial . global 1

It talks about what is coming – 

trends, opportunities and threats to 

prosperity. 

It talks about innovations that will 

transform the global economy and 

strategies businesses must 

implement to compete. 

It is full of anecdotes, summary 

tables and headlines from the 

future. 


1. To explain the Extreme Future. 

2. To help you better prepare for the Extreme Future. 

3. To enable you to adapt, shape opportunity, and avoid risks. 


1. A future vision 

Clear vision of where you are 

going 

2. A sound strategy to get there 

3. Tools to 

persuade key 

people 

4. Effective execution 

Colleagues, teammates, family 

members, and so on – to commit 

to a shared vision and strategy 


Climate 

Change 

Longevity 

Medicine 

Weird 

Science 

Fueling the 

Future 

Future of the 

individual 

TEN TRENDS 

OF THE 

EXTREME 

FUTURE 

Globalization 

US-China 

Future 

Innovation 

Economy 

Next 

Workforce 

Securing the 

Future 


Future 

Map 



Solar 

Hydrogen 

BioFuels 

Wind 

Nano Tech 

Options 

Fueling 

the 

Future 

Issues 

End of Oil 

Nuclear 

Geopolitics 

Security 

Terrorism 


FIVE THINGS EVERYONE NEEDS 

TO KNOW ABOUT ENERGY 

The era of cheap oil is over. 

Alternative energy, though 

promising, is not ready to 

produce adequate supply. 

We need to invest quickly in 

new energy sources. 

We need to learn to conserve 

energy. 

Energy is a national security 

issue. 


2030 ENERGY FORECAST 

The global demand for energy will increase by 70 

percent. 

There will be a 50 percent increase in energy demand 

from developing nations, especially China and India. 

Energy access is an essential enabler of higher standards 

of living in the developing world. 

Increased energy access in the developed world will be 

necessary to sustain productivity and growth. 

Energy has become the leading global and national 

security issue. 

China’s energy needs will be double those of the U.S. 

and the EU. 

Renewable energy will account for more than 35 

percent of total global energy needs to offset reduced 

oil reserves. 

Innovations like fusion, nanotechnology, and solar will 

replace oil. 

Distributed small scale, person-to-person electricity 

generation will be sustainable. 

Breakthroughs in hydrogen and renewable energy will 

provide new energy supplies. 

A Tibetan monk cooks lunch using a simple solar 

energy stove at Longwu Monastery in Tongren, Qinghai 

province. 


TOP FUTURE BENEFITS OF HYDROGEN 

Reliable Source Increased access to a reliable source of 

energy makes hydrogen worth working toward. 

Flexible Hydrogen can fuel personal and public 

transportation and numerous energy-dependent devices, 

engines and needs 

Self-Reliance Not having to count on foreign monopolies 

and the geopolitics of oil is worth the investment. 

Environmentally Friendly Hydrogen produces water as 

exhaust, though oil is still necessary to produce hydrogen 

fuel. 

Hydrogen Works Today We know hydrogen can provide 

power today – it is just too costly and is not yet ready for 

mass transportation use. 

Unlimited Access Hydrogen could be an unlimited power 

source. 

Ultimately Inexpensive and Cost-Effective If the Iraq war 

costs the U.S. between $500 billion and $1 trillion, and we 

were to invest half of that in hydrogen, we would see 

dramatic breakthroughs in energy-fast. 


Energy will shape every aspect of 

the Extreme Future, from security 

to transportation to health care 

and growth. 

We must prepare now by investing 

in alternative energy sources, some 

through innovation like nano, and 

others through hydrogen. 

The future of nations will rise and 

fall, proper or decline, based on 

their access to energy resources. 



Capital 

Neuro 

Open Markets 

Democracy 

Nano 

Innovation 

Economy Map 

IT 

Jobs 

Education 

Bio 

Research 


TEN EXTREME INNOVATIONS THAT WILL 

ROCK YOUR WORLD IN 2025 

Teleportation of objects around the 

planet. 

Specialized DNA for sale online. 

Space tourism to the moon and Mars. 

Manipulating matter to make smart 

products. 

Four billion people doing Internet 

commerce. 

Hydrogen engines for transportation. 

Cybernetic health enhancement of 

humans. 

Downloading memories and drugs. 

Domestic robots. 


THE FORMULA OF THE 

INNOVATION ECONOMY 

I + C + D = P2 

(Innovation + Capitalism + Democracy = Prosperity and Peace) 


THE TOP TEN INDUSTRIES OF THE 

INNOVATION ECONOMY: 

WHO WILL BENEFIT MOST 

1. Pharma/Health The extension of human life 

and health enhancement as a result of major 

advances in medical, pharmaceutical, and surgical 

knowledge and treatments. 

2. Energy The development of renewable, clean, 

abundant, and affordable fuels. 

3. Manufacturing The development of new 

processes that will enable the global, fast, 

inexpensive, and on-demand production and 

distribution of goods. 

4. Communications The creation of new ways to 

connect information, people, and financial 

transactions in real time. The software, games, 

programs, and content. 

5. Transportation The discovery of new methods 

to increase the ability of individuals and companies 

to be mobile, to ship, and to reach customers. 

New Straits Times, Wednesday, April 4, 2012 

The Star, Sunday, 22 April 2012 


THE TOP TEN INDUSTRIES OF THE 

INNOVATION ECONOMY: 

WHO WILL BENEFIT MOST 

6. Security The creation of new devices that will both spare lives 

and increase our ability to protect our society, our allies, and 

ourselves. 

7. Entertainment Media New delivery systems to share 

ideas, culture, and fun that will make the existing Internet and 

currently available electronic entertainment devices seem as 

quaint and outdated as windup toys. 

8. Education and Learning The creation of immediate, 

portable, transferable, on-demand knowledge sources on a 

scale equivalent to the Library of Congress. 

9. Knowledge Engineering The creation of information 

services that can morph into games, finance, software, 

programs, and systems to provide value to consumers and 

business for better customer service, entertainment, marketing, 

planning, and managing. 

10. Smart Materials New nano-bio-neuro materials that are 

smarter, safer, cleaner, and cheaper to make into any products, 

on-demand, for any industry. 

Utusan Malaysia, Isnin, 7 November 2011 

The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, April 18, 2012 

The Star, Friday, 25 November 2011 


Renewable 

Energy 

Longevity 

Medicine 

Space 

Personal 

Security 

TOP 

INNOVATION 

MARKETS BY 

2025 

Clean Tech 

Nano 

Manufacturing 

Human 

Enhancement 


TOP NANOTECH FUTURES : 2020 

Hydrogen-nano and solar-energy systems. 

Smart nanomaterials that self-assemble. 

Nanomimetics; products, devices, and materials 

that mimic nature’s abilities. 

Pollution-eating nano agents that clean the 

environment. 

Nano-manufacturing foundries for rapid, ondemand 

production. 

Nanobiometrics that provide security scans. 

Military nano weapons. 

Nano-enabled robots. 

Nano-enabled medical diagnostics that probe 

our genes and bodies. 

Nano-bio devices that heal, prevent illness, and 

restore capabilities. 


TOP BIOTECH FUTURES: 2020 

Genetic vaccines 

Gene-replacement therapy 

Human-enhancement genetic testing 

Genomic disease prevention 

Genetic restoration therapy 

Biocognitive augmentation 

Bioengineered organs 

Memory and personality 

biorestoration 

Longevity medicine 

Studying the science of sensation 

New Straits Times, Tuesday, May 15, 2012 


TOP NEUROTECH FUTURES : 2020 

Stem-cell therapy for restoring memory. 

Brain-machine implants into the cerebral cortex 

to activate mobility after paralysis. 

Silicon, nano-retinas to provide sight – direct 

sensory awareness into the brain, bypassing the 

eyes. 

Age reversal on cancerous cells using neuropharmacology. 

Genomic neurotherapy to reprogram diseasecausing 

genes. 

Enabling neurons that control robotic arms and 

legs – human cybernetics. 

Neural engineering to rewire the brain to 

combat mental illness and depression. 

Brain Research 


TOP INFOTECH FUTURES: 

The Internet has become the largest 

global network for ideas, commerce, 

health care, and education. 

Future chips include nanotech, 

photonics, quantum, biotech, or DNA. 

More than 100 billion chips will connect 

every product and most people. 

Future computers have become 

wearable devices. 

Seamless wireless mobility enables 

communication with everyone, 

everywhere on the planet. 

Anywhere and always-on Internet 

connectivity is free. 

2025 

New Straits Times, Friday, April 6, 2012 


EIGHT FUNDAMENTAL NEW INNOVATIONS 

THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE 

1. Biomimetics Mimicking nature’s mechanisms to make new products. 

2. Photonics The use of light to create new products. 

3. Nanobiotech The combination of nanotech and biology. 

4. Targeted Genomics The use of genetic information to make safer drugs, 

foods, and devices. 

5. Biodetection The use of biological information to detect risks. 

6. Neuro-devices The creation of micro-machines to enhance or fix brain 

functions. 

7. Nanoenergy The combination of nanotech and energy to create renewable 

fuels. 

8. Quantum Encryption The use of quantum computing to protect networks, 

products, and people. 


HOW TO KILL THE FUTURE OF 

YOUR ECONOMY OR COMPANY 

Don’t invest in innovation, science, or technology. 

Don’t develop, acquire, or protect intellectual property. 

Don’t fix the education system. 

Hold back on immigration. 

Stop training workers to invent innovation. 

Restrict investment capital and liquidity. 

Limit personal privacy. 

Allow terrorism and crime to persist. 

Don’t protect individual freedoms; no free press, no free trade. 

Create barriers to free enterprise. 


HOW TO GROW FUTURE 

PROSPERITY 

1. Upgrade advanced science programs in high schools and colleges. 

2. Create a new incentive program to encourage youth to become 

scientists, engineers, and tech-savvy entrepreneurs. 

3. Teach innovation and entrepreneurship to everyone. 

4. Support free trade, free press, open markets, and free enterprise 

worldwide. 

5. Adopt rule of law for intellectual- property protection. 

6. Seed venture capital investments in new innovations. 

7. Bring on the Internet and give it to everyone. 

8. Learn about nano-bio-IT-neuro innovations. 

9. Support radical ideas that may disrupt the status quo. 

10. Reward individuals for being innovative. 



THE TOP TEN WORKFORCE 

TRENDS 

1. A global war for talent will be the top driver of competitive 

advantage, pitting nations, individuals, and companies 

against one another as talent grows scarce. 

2. The future of the workforce should not be defined by 

geography, but by talent. 

3. The aging of the population in America and Europe will 

have dramatic effects on society and the economy. 

4. Hispanics and women will dominate the future U.S. 

workforce. 

5. Women will comprise a high percentage of new workers 

and leaders forever changing the politics of boardrooms and 

markets. 


THE TOP TEN WORKFORCE 

TRENDS 

6. Increased immigration will be necessary to enable available 

talent to keep up with the demands of business and society. 

7. Finding high-tech skilled employees form a global talent 

pool will be the greatest challenge for every organization 

and every nation. 

8. Innovation will be a key driver of workforce skills, requiring 

the education system to be completely overhauled. 

9. The domestic workforce will grow more slowly because of 

dangerously lower fertility rates. 

10. Workforce crises that arise in the near future will be 

traceable to the lack of skilled workers. 



A positive 

outlook on the 

future. 

Family and 

community 

involvement; a 

commitment to 

values. 

Higher 

education. 

Acquiring 

science and tech 

skills. 

Financial 

awareness skills 

and personal 

money 

management. 


WHY EDUCATION MUST CHANGE TO 

PREPARE THE FUTURE WORKFORCE 

1. The current education system has failed to complete its most 

vital and strategic mandate; preparing the workforce for 

the future. 

2. Education does not have the leadership, guts, or vision to 

reinvent itself. 

3. Most schools, kindergarten through college, are not in sync 

with changes in the marketplace – more competitive, more 

complex, more global, more innovation-driven. 

4. Without educational change, more companies will 

outsource to find skilled talent offshore, creating 

unemployment in the U.S. 


WHY EDUCATION MUST CHANGE TO 

PREPARE THE FUTURE WORKFORCE 

5. Teachers are not the problem. Pay teachers double and 

retrain them for the Innovation Economy. Measure their 

performance, hire the best, and fire the slackers. 

6. Political leaders have lacked the courage to create a 

Future-Ready national innovation curriculum: more science, 

more innovation, more high-tech, a more global outlook, 

more entrepreneurial skills. 

7. We are teaching kids about the past. We need to teach 

kids about the future. How to survive in the Extreme 

Future. 


Neuro-Medical Techs 

Person Protectors: Personal 

Security Techs 

Organ Cloners 

Biofuture Therapists 

Quantum Scientists 

Real-Time Business Executives 

Online Consumer-Marketing 

Wizards 

Health Enhancement Therapists 

Cancer Enablers 

Online Consumer Marketing 


Knowledge 

Management 

Advisors 

On-Demand 

Supply-Chain 

Designers 

Nano-Bio 

Entrepreneurs 

Global 

Headhunters 

Artists, Writers, 

Poets

THE EXTREME FUTURE (Part 1) - UTM

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