Responsible Innovation

I wrote an article back in April 2009 entitled Metamerica: Evolving The Governance Of A Digital Democracy. It begins, “Dateline New York: April 3, 2021” with breaking news about a massive, catastrophic data breach. So how would the Great Data Crash of 2021 happen? Or, perhaps more importantly, why have the questions I posed in 2009, and the very clear predictions of known consequences of our digital society, not only gone unanswered by our leaders but in many cases gone unasked? Let’s look back to help us see the future. Continue Reading →

Recent studies predict that by 2025 there may be as many as 100 billion IoT devices deployed worldwide. That’s roughly 14 connected devices or sensors for every person on Earth. My good friend Rob Mesirow and I have been spending a lot of time talking about the most practical ways to integrate “smart” technology into business processes. Continue Reading →

Much has been written about China’s diminished presence at CES 2019. Looking strictly at the numbers, the story seems clear. The CES 2019 Exhibitor directory listed 1,211 Chinese exhibitors, down from 1,551 at the 2018 show (a 20 percent drop). Add in the congressionally approved CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) reforms, which all but dried up Chinese venture money flowing into the United States, then add the on-again/off-again China-vs.-US trade war, and it’s easy to adopt a bearish attitude toward Chinese tech. But there’s more to this story than the numbers and the politics suggest. Continue Reading →

The largest trade show in North America, CES^® (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) starts this week in Las Vegas. The numbers are staggering. There are roughly 4,000 exhibitors hawking their wares to approximately 180,000 people. I've been attending the show since 1996, and I can tell you from personal experience, it is one of the most exciting weeks of the year. Here's what I expect to see. Continue Reading →

We live in the age of exponentiation. Everything is evolving at an almost unimaginable speed. New tools, techniques, iterations, breakthroughs, and game-changing discoveries happen almost daily. Today, just staying on top of what's happening is practically a full-time job. This raises a question: If free unencumbered commercial enterprises are struggling to keep up with the pace of change, what hope do governments have? Continue Reading →

At the last ShellyPalmer Innovation Series Breakfast at CES, I had a Socratic discussion about the influence of the big technology platforms and other emerging technologies on our lives and the need for responsible innovation with David Sapin, US Risk & Regulatory Leader, PwC. Then the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica news broke. Since then, our thinking has evolved. Continue Reading →

Can data science meaningfully change your life? Asked differently, can you use easily available sensors and apps along with common data and analytics tools to collect enough data about your daily life to craft a sustainable action plan? The answer is yes. Here’s how. Continue Reading →

Since we first met the Jetsons on September 23, 1962, the idea of a smart home has enthralled us. In the 56 years since the show’s premiere, technology has advanced in ways Hanna-Barbera could never have dreamed of, yet we’re no closer to a world where Rosie the Robot is real. What gives? Continue Reading →

On Tuesday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Apple held its second major hardware event of the fall to unveil a new lineup of iPads, MacBooks, and more. The big takeaway: all of Apple’s new products are the best they’ve ever been … and also the most expensive they’ve ever been. If you’re looking to drop some serious coin this holiday season, here’s what you need to know. Continue Reading →

Apple is the most valuable tech company in the world. So when its CEO lambasts other tech companies for "weaponizing [user data] against us with military efficiency," people are going to take him seriously. After all, Tim Cook is the de facto leader of the tech world. While he didn't name names, his vilification was clearly aimed at his corporate peers (which ordinarily would be good clean fun), except as presented, his accusations sounded like self-serving corporate posturing. Of course, there is another possibility ... Tim may have just been speaking metaphorically. Continue Reading →