Super Babies and What it Means for Our Kids
So, I had the honor of teaching a workshop at Central Iowa Community College this week and had I got a lot of great questions during our Q&A. We covered everything from AI, to Fake news, Robotics to CRISPR and real-time gene editing. One question that came up (and is VERY timely I might add) was this one – “In an age when people can use tools like CRISPR to edit genes for the price of flushing the toilet, will we start seeing people editing their babies before their born to be super athletes, super smart, super-everything and if so, …
Building Inclusive Innovation Ecosystems at SXSW 2017
This week, York Exponential CEO John McElligott is at SXSW, chosen to be part of a panel on Building Inclusive Innovation Ecosystems. John is also President of York, PA non-profit The Fortress Initiative and CEO of The Fortress Academy, Central Pennsylvania’s FIRST and ONLY state-licensed computer programming bootcamp in Central Pennsylvania. Giving keynote presentations around the country, including at The White House, John has shared The York Plan to unite communities in preparation for emerging and disruptive technology. A registered 72,000 people will be in attendance at SXSW and this will be a great opportunity to to discuss inclusive innovation ecosystems and spread The …
Will our kids get a drivers license? Will they even need one???
So, as I watch the incredible advancements for self driving cars I can’t help but think about what this may mean for our kids. I remember my first car, a crappy Chevy Spectrum I got from my mom. I loved that car. Not because it was awesome, because it was NOT. It actually looked more like a refrigerator on wheels (see picture) but I loved it because of what it represented. Freedom. Independence. Adventure….. It’s strange to think that our kids will not only not need a license, they probably won’t even care about getting one. …
The 4th Industrial Revolution and Why Workforce Investment Boards are Critical to Local Prosperity
There is a shift sweeping through our nation and there is no denying that business models and economies are changing at an exponential rate. From self-driving cars to Artificial Intelligence, Uber to Air BnB, we are on the cusp of the most transformative time in the history of Humanity. (Ok, so I know that it might be easy to dismiss this kind of talk as “Overblown.” “Out there”. “CRAZY.”) But before you tune out, think about this: President Obama recently warned Congress that robots are going to begin taking over jobs that pay less than $20 an hour, and a …
Could Central PA be hit harder by Technological change than others? Experts say “YES”.
It’s no secret the world is in a frenzy over robots. I get really excited but I completely understand why it can be scary. Things are changing at an accelerated rate and the headlines are full of stories about robots taking jobs. It’s easy to see this kind of stuff and think it’s way over blown. We tend to always put any talk of Robots and Artificial Intelligence in our “Future Bucket”. The truth is, things are definitely changing…and fast. President Obama recently warned congress that robots are going to begin taking over jobs that pay less than $20 an …
Time to kick the bucket! The “Future Bucket” that is.
No, I’m not saying we should all meet on a mountain top, drink some happy juice and wait for the mothership, this is a different kind of bucket we need to kick. The “Future Bucket”. For the longest time, the media has had us looking in the wrong direction. We’ve had our eye out for flying cars, time travel and our robot overlords but when they didn’t show up we thought, “Thanks a lot Technology! I guess it will never happen”. From Terminators to Marty McFly, every time someone talks about any futuristic technology, we immediately think “been there, done …
The future is here and it’s time for Central PA to get ready! York Plan 2.0 anyone?
I recently had the honor of being the Keynote Speaker for MANTEC’s Business Innovation Conference (see video below this post) and I’m not going to lie…. for the first time in a loooong time, I was nervous. I get the chance to speak to groups all over the United States about the Exponential advancement of Tech and the impact it’s going to have on our communities, so this is kind of my thing. In a past life I was the lead singer of my band (see awesome throw back band picture), so getting on stage has always been in my wheelhouse. …
MANTEC Business Growth Conference 2016
MANTEC held their 4th annual Business Growth Conference at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel on Thursday, March 18th. This event included technology exhibits, inspiring keynote presentations, workshops, and informative speakers. For a full list of details, visit MANTEC’s event page. Who is MANTEC? “OUR MISSION: As a private, non-profit, independent, resource center and human resources consulting firm for manufacturers in South Central Pennsylvania, our mission is to drive strength in manufacturing through continuous innovation and growth. We have a state and federal network that gives us access to a variety of technical, financial, educational and business resources.” mantec.org Speaker and workshop topics …
Iowa SMART Conference
York Exponential CEO, John McElligott will be in Des Moines, Iowa at the CCCU Convention Center on April 28th, 2016 for the Iowa SMART Conference. The world is amazing! Everyday there are more and more remarkable discoveries, inventions and technologies being developed. It can seem overwhelming trying to plan for every possible scenario; trying to decipher the impact each new innovation will have on our businesses, communities and our joint future. Industries that have seemed steady and unchanged are being rocked to their core. But for those of us willing to look deeper we will not only begin …
Fourth Industrial Revolution
“Previous industrial revolutions liberated humankind from animal power, made mass production possible and brought digital capabilities to billions of people. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is, however, fundamentally different. It is characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human.” – World Economic Forum Today everything is connected. We see it more and more as thermostats, lightbulbs, appliances, etc. in our homes come equipped wifi-ready paired with a smartphone app. “The resulting shifts and disruptions mean that …
