With special guests including Zoltan Istvan (Futurist and SciFi Author) this event will be an interactive immersive day of future technology, demos, XR related technology, device bar, touch wall and info on emerging trends and what that means for the future of technology and society, meet industry star’s, thought leaders and more.

Held in the Seattle area in Redmond on the Microsoft Campus, Tickets and more information Here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/extreme-future-tech-fest-summer-2015-tickets-17010280206

The line up so far includes

David J Kelley (CIO/CEO) – Futurist/Technologist, MS MVP

Zoltan Istvan – Famous Futurist Author and Journalist – www.zoltanistvan.com

Adam Sheppard – CEO – www.8ninths.com

Gerry Miller – “Future of Medical Care” CTO – http://cloudticity.com/

Erika Nicole Feldman, Ph.D. – University of Washington  on “Measuring the ROI of Augmented and Immersive Environments:  Considerations Before Design and Development”

Dorothy Deasy, Design Researcher – http://ddeasy.com/

and more…

Extreme Future Forum with Industry Experts

Futures Lightening Rounds during lunch, ping us if you want to sign up.

more to come…

in the long run technology and humanity might tend to blur in terms of the line and while we talk about what that might look like we will also talk about the key trends driving that long term vision and what it means to all of us including:

Cloud Computing In part recognition for our mastery of the data center at a societal level, Cloud computing is really the mass commoditization of computing power.  Given the presence of cloud computing, we approach the level were anyone can access an almost infinite amount of computing power. This trend currently has developed to the point of being the basis for most corporate software system initiations as a foundational component of LOB application development in every industry sector.

Big Data (Related to Cloud Computing) Big Data is the ability to collect data on a level beyond the database systems of the past.  Big Data is being able to collect all of the data from 5000 sensors every second from 15 million cars and being able to use that data in an intelligent way.  It is only the power of Cloud Computing that has made Big Data a factor in the modern world.

IoT (Internet of Things) (Back to Big Data) The ‘Internet of Things’ is really a trend related to devices and sensors that talk to the internet.  This trend is being driven, in part, by the availability of big data; for example, with internet enabled sensors. It also includes watches, various wearables, and other equipment that now can provide data or interact with the internet and is related to mobile computing.

BI (Business Intelligence) (Back to Big Data) BI, or Business Intelligence, is not new.  BI has been around, as a term, for a while; but where this becomes a trend, or factor, which is particularly relevant to us as it is related to the use of Big Data to gain a level of BI that borders on super powers; like predictive analytics which border on Prescience.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) (back to IoT) As artificial intelligence slowly moves towards AGI, and in the presence of Big Data and Big Data BI and the other trends, AI really improves our ability to make use of Big Data and the other factors; further driving them forward in the Market.  Now that AI has passed the Turing test (admittedly not entirely scientifically though) AI will continue to become increasingly powerful and relevant to us; in particular as AI begins to understand natural speech in context, which is emerging now.

AR (back to IoT) consumer adoption (Wearables reference) Augmented Reality is the ability to overlay reality with the digital world of information.  While still an emerging trend (out of the wearables trend), it will outpace the wearables trend which is more ‘niche’.  As a pair of glasses or other device allows anyone to overlay their vision, and replace the phone and computer and tablet easily (based on the technology that is coming out around AR), AR will emerge 5 years out as the platform of choice gaining widespread adoption over the following 5 years; based on current engineering and what is coming to market starting in FY15 through FY20.

VR (Virtual Reality) (As it relates to Wearables and AR)

Virtual reality is related to the AR trend but will see alot more pick up especially around gaming in the next 5 years and by the time AR really goes out to the mass consumer VR will have a strong hold on gaming as the platform of choice as well as an emerging addition problem.

UX (user Experience) User Experience, or better digital experiences, has been a trend as technology like the internet and improved IDE’s and other technologies have allowed competition to go beyond just making software to making software better.  It is in this competitive environment where the real differentiating factor for software frequently is only the user experience; and in this, from an engagement standpoint, where things can’t be outsourced is in direct interaction and user experience, where the trend towards high touch engagements for design are indicative of this trend.

Platform Evolution Platform Evolution, along with Moore’s law, has driven the tech sector for 30+ years.  From the Super Computer to the smart phone, computing has come a long way and there is no reason to think that has changed or will change anytime in the immediate future. Where this is going now, with AR finally becoming commercially viable, is that technology will become more advanced and increasingly be part of our environment and us; but be more in the background.

Emergent Societal changes What happens when the technologies are part of the walls, our clothes, our cars and our furniture but not out in the open as such?  This is where things are going and along those lines society itself is evolving. Look at children and the current generation which are learning new skills more focused on using technology, off-loading memory and learning to depend on that technology vs past generations; and it is this change that will drive further emergent changes in society.

Sponsors include:

Aquent, Transhumanity.net, Interact, The Foundation, Microsoft, Brighter Brains and more…