Recent Articles from Thomas Frey
Game of drones: Swarmbots instead of tractors
When Guttenberg first converted a wine press into his first crude printing press, it never crossed his mind that each of the letters he was carefully carving from wood would some day be generated with far more accuracy through super tiny dots, known as pixels. When Michelangelo spent four years meticulously carving his famous statue […]
The futurist: Agriculture’s game of drones
Many in this new industry are chomping at the bit to get started. According to the Association for Unmanned Vehicles International, once drones get okayed for the national air space, the first three years will produce $13.6 billion in economic activity, and 34,000 new manufacturing jobs will get c...
More on the great freelancer movement
(Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. Read Part 1.) Millennials are in the driver’s seat. It may not feel like it to them, but they come with far more flexibility, a less encumbered lifestyle and a resilience that makes them perfect for doing project work. Their willingness to “do what it takes,” […]
The futurist: The great freelancer movement
As most Millennials have come to realize, finding a job is an entrepreneurial activity. You’re selling your skills to the highest bidder, or most often, just anyone willing to pay for them. If you can’t find a full-time job, a part-time one will do for now. Even project work will be fine.
More on preparing our minds for thoughts unthinkable
(Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. Read Part 1.) Recently, I predicted that 50 percent of colleges will collapse by 2030, and the fallout from these failures will not be pleasant. However, as with all predictions, the fate of these institutions is not inevitable. A few will find a way to navigate through […]
The futurist: Preparing our minds for thoughts unthinkable
There’s a massive battle brewing in academia. No, it’s not just a battle between MOOCs (massive open online courses) and traditional education. What’s at stake is nothing short of the future of humanity.
The futurist: Every disaster has a beginning: Part 2
(Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. Read Part 1.) When it comes to spotting deviant behavior, we have the potential for intervening and removing the worst of the worst very quickly. Here’s an example. One of the most notorious serial killers of all times, Pedro Alonso Lopez, known as the “Monster of […]
Eight reasons why more than half of colleges are doomed
(This is the second of two parts. Read Part One.) So what happens when the legacy power of an institution meets a rapidly changing business environment driven by emerging technology? Some will survive — but many will not. Here are eight core issues for colleges that will drive a wedge between business-as-usual and the unstoppable […]
The futurist: The collapse of college
Over the coming decades, the amount of education we consume to stay competitive will increase exponentially. However, the education we “buy” will increasingly be on our terms, not theirs. We will want education that is relative, timely, available on-demand and fits within a specific need. And it w...
The futurist: More on who controls the education industry
(Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. Read Part 1.) Last year, James Glattfelder presented a very probing look into areas of power and control with his critically important TED talk, “Who controls the world?” After conducting an impressive amount of research, he determined there were over 43,000 significant transnational corporations who essentially […]
The futurist: Who controls the education industry?
Most students believe their future self will always be richer, more connected and more able to deal with financial obligations than their current self. In many cases, this is correct, but not always. As a result, it is very difficult to accurately decide what kind of pain threshold you should impo...
The futurist: More about stamping out forest fires forever
(Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. Read Part 1.) Thermal-infrared imaging sensors on NASA’s Ikhana unmanned research aircraft could be adjusted to detect forest fires at a very early stage. Massachusetts State Police released video taken of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s hiding spot after he was discovered in a boat parked […]