Judy Nagel, Upward Mobility Signals Team
Fifteen thousand satellites have been sent to space since 1957, and only half are still working. Others are floating uselessly or have burned up. Orbit Fab is now building gas stations in space, providing hydrazine, the most common fuel for satellites. Read more on satellites.
We recently welcomed leaders from eight local organizations to Strategic Foresight training at the St. Norbert Abbey Center for Spirituality. Meet them here and discover what brought them to foresight training.
We welcome to our Board of Directors a chief strategy officer in the food production industry, a retired printing executive, and a consultant and executive coach. Meet them.
Judy Nagel, Upward Mobility Signals
Assertion: The United States is the most powerful country in the world. We do not need to change our policies.
Twenty years ago, the US made up 46.9% of world capitalization, by 2020 the share of world capitalization had increased to 54.6%The United States is first in world nominal GDP at 40.7% with China at 34.27%. China is first in PPP (purchasing power parity) GDP since 2014. Continue Reading Here
How did all this “World Futures Day” business get its start? Learn about the work of Humanity+, the Millennium Project, Teach the Future, and more, all brought together on March 1. Learn how World Futures Day has evolved.
Nearly 400 local leaders, activists and civic-minded residents packed the room on March 1 to hear keynote speaker John Smart and local speakers John Werner and Gratzia Villarroel. They listened, asked questions, networked and considered. Read about World Futures Day 2024.
Judy Nagel, Upward Mobility Signals Team
Google has initiated a first-of-its-kind approach to powering its data centers –
geothermal energy! With the goal of accelerating a clean energy transition on a
planetary scale, Google has pioneered a horizontal drilling method. It uses new
techniques to harness the consistent heat from within the Earth’s crust and generate
electricity without burning fossil fuels or releasing carbon into the atmosphere. More on energy.
Jim Golembeski, Upward Mobility Signals Team
Historically, prison conditions in America are not a pretty picture. Wisconsin continues to spend an enormous amount of taxpayer dollars on a system that is inhumane and a vicious cycle for those caught up in it. The current situation at the Green Bay and Waupun prisons has been gaining a lot of media attention. So I ask, what is the single biggest reason that people are sentenced to prison in Wisconsin? Read more about our State Corrections System
Kent Paulsen, Director of the Dudley Birder Chorale
In fall 2024, the Dudley Birder Chorale of St. Norbert College will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, and,
like most 50-year-olds, we of the Chorale find ourselves in a collective mid-life crisis! We could clearly
see a possible future of “decline and collapse.” Our board officers enrolled in Envision’s strategic
foresight training to consider the future of our organization, and, in a wider context, the future of
performing arts among community groups. Two major insights emerged as we went through the
foresight process. Read about Who is our Customer here.
Nan Nelson, Envision Board Member and Economic Transformation Signals Team
In 2022, Thomas Frey was our keynote speaker at World Futures Day here in Green Bay. Today he is examining artificial intelligence (AI) trends to watch for in 2024. He warns that “With prudent planning, generative AI can drive positive workforce transformation. But neglecting to develop the human capital to extract AI’s full value risks misuse, distrust, and widening inequality.”
Concerning impact on the workplace, Frey says: “New positions like prompt engineers, AI trainers, model interpreters, and tool explainers are already rising in demand. Skilled communicators who can distill complex business needs into natural language instructions suited for AI will also see significant opportunities. Technical roles developing user interfaces that build confidence in AI systems will similarly grow.
“Education and policy will need to emphasize these emerging skills while strengthening timeless human abilities like relationship-building, empathy, and holistic thinking. Life-long learning to stay ahead of AI’s evolving capabilities will be crucial.
Organizations that view their employees as partners in navigating this AI transition rather than costs to eventually eliminate will likely gain an edge through knowledge retention and human-AI collaboration.
Read Frey’s full article about the eight trends, including commentary on election meddling, content creation, reshaping manufacturing and business workflows, and more.