Last Chance for the First Strategic Forum:

Planning for Transformative Change

There are more than 160 people registered and we hope to have roughly 200 futurists and strategists to kick things off on June 30. Attendance may be limited, so this is the time to save your position in this seminal gathering.

The pandemic and other threats like climate change pose an existential challenge to organizations everywhere, and they have made it clear that the present global order is not sustainable. The World Economic Forum called for “A Great Reset” in all spheres of society. Leaders in business, government and other institutions need to plan for transformative change – NOW.

The Strategic Forum draws on its leading research of The TechCast Project to bring authoritative studies on the crucial issues of today to a broader audience. See our work on Global Consciousness, The Coming Internet, Redesigning Capitalism, Forecasting the Presidential Election, and AI versus Humans.

Complimentary Admission

Anyone interested in strategy, foresight, future studies and related fields is encouraged to attend at no charge.

Conference Begins at 2000 UTC (coordinated universal time) and ends at 2130 UTC.

Wednesday, June 30, 2021
1 pm PDT (Los Angeles, San Francisco)
4 pm EDT (New York, Washington, DC)
9 pm daylight time (London)
10 pm daylight time (Paris)

Thursday, July 1, 2021
6 am standard time (Seoul, Tokyo)
7 am standard time (Sydney)

Register Here for the June 30 Conference

Offer Donations to the June 30 Conference

Register Here for the June 30 Workshop

PROGRAM

To clarify questions about the program or other issues, email Prof. Halal at Halal@GWU.edu

Hot Strategic Issues and Breakthroughs

(click images for more)

Exxon, Shell and Other Big Oil Companies Forced to Address Climate

Exxon was forced to accept two climate activists who were voted onto its board of directors. Meanwhile, A Dutch court forced Royal Dutch Shell to make deeper, faster cuts to its climate-warming emissions, setting a legal precedent that may plague other oil companies. Coming on the heels of the Business Roundtable announcement that overturned shareholder supremacy, is this the end of "business as usual"?

Space Tourism Is Almost Here

Virgin Galactic took two people to the very edge of suborbital space for the first time in more than two years, and its third time overall. This flight was the first of four planned crewed missions slated for this year, and they will all be crucial to the company proving it can fly quickly, consistently, and safely. Virgin Galactic plans to launch 400 space tourism flights from the site, called Spaceport America. And Jeff Bezos himself is planning to be on board the maiden flight of his space vehicle, Blue Origin, in a few months.

Germany Gives Greenlight to Driverless Vehicles

Germany has adopted legislation that will allow driverless vehicles on public roads by 2022, laying out a path for companies to deploy robo taxis and delivery services in the country at scale. While autonomous testing is currently permitted in Germany, this would allow operations of driverless vehicles without a human safety operator behind the wheel. With driverless cars roaming the streets of Germany, how much longer can it take to do the same everywhere?

Letters

TechCast always encourages letters, comments, and suggestions.

Keynote on Autonomous Vehicles Conference

TechCast gave a keynote speech at an international conference on transportation featuring autonomous cars on November 2, 2020. The conference was organized by the Intelligent Transport Society of South Korea.

TechCast's Bill Halal organized his talk around the five principles of Global Consciousness.

TechCast Briefs Angel Investors

TechCast founder, William Halal, kicked off the annual meeting of the Angel Capital Association’s Virtual Summit on May 12 with his keynote on The Technology Revolution. Among his many points, Bill outlined how AI is causing today’s move beyond knowledge to an Age of Consciousness, and that business is now altering corporate consciousness to include the interests of all stakeholders. Angel investors are concerned about the social impacts of their companies, so this news was well-received, especially as Bill stressed this historic change could be a competitive advantage.

Click here for the presentation

Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association

Prof. Halal spoke on the topic of AI, noting TechCast’s forecast that AI is expected to automate 30% of routine knowledge work about 2025 +3/-1 years and General AI is likely to arrive about 2040. Expanding on the same theme delivered at ACA, Bill explained how today’s shifting consciousness is likely to transform, not only business but also the government, the military, and all other institutions.