This week was the last class of my TWC classes. And the most important as well since I had my group presentation. For which we met in the morning at 7:00 AM.
Today the first presentation was about mind controlled prosthetics. It was interesting to know that the commercial application of this technology started in 1980. Wherein the prosthetics provided for normal working patterns for the disabled. Later on, in USA: DARPHA  manufactured the first mind controlled prosthetics using surgical methods. The main benefit I felt with this was the fact that it will not only provide normal functioning but also sensory feeling. For instance the technology developed for leg amputees can now be able to provide the feeling of a natural leg and also a big advantage that energy could be stored in that artificial leg.  However the cost of developing this was about $ 8 million. Hence in my view, if the world relies only on DARPHA for this technology, this would lead to larger disparity between the  rich and the poor. As only the rich would be able to afford these technologies and poor will still remain disabled.
The issue for further discussion, which I felt was the fact that since this technology would enhance human capabilities such as for leg amputees, the artificial leg would give them additional non human benefits such as they will take 27% less oxygen while running. This would specially be a great deal for sprinters as, less consumption of oxygen would drastically help the disabled to become "highly able".  The Prof in this case recommends that what can be done is have separate Olympics sprints for them. In my view as well this would be a best method as this would solve the main problem of fairness for the natural sprinters and this will also some how reduce the incentive for other people or potential sprinting aspirants to intentionally cut off their leg to benefit more from this technology.
The other key away point I thought in the presentation was the fact that today only surgical procedures are used to implant this technology, this is first of all risky and secondly since it is mind controlling, if the technology gets into the wrong hand, such as of the terrorists, can have detrimental effects such as increase in the rate of suicide bombers, etc. Leading to greater social issues. Which I felt that the group failed to explained.

The other presentation which I found the most interesting was on food problem with respective to over population. I had a few interesting, which were that first of all there is enough food for everybody the problem is the distribution and preservation. As the richer or more well off people in the world have better accessibility of food resources than the  poor. This is due to the fact that the food market is demand derived, who demands more gets more.
Moreover I feel that the innovation of technologies such as pesticides, tools, etc in the field of agriculture in developed countries is making the poor people in developing countries whose main income is from cultivation, unemployed as the yield from using the innovative technologies is much more than the yield produced by these poor farmers who depend on rain and other natural resources to cultivate. Also these farmers have to sell their yield in an organised sector wherein the price they receive is even lesser than the market price. Even when they sell, the retailer buys the stock in bulk but have no way to preserve it and hence the whole stock gets spoilt due to rodent attacks, harsh temperatures, etc. Leading to shortages. Therefore I believe that to cater to this problem first what the government needs to do is improve preservation and distribution.

The other interesting presentation I felt was the presentation of my group itself. Since the topic which we had selected was kind of new and very modern. In other words it was an out of the box idea.
Which was sex and advertisements. Some important observations I could think of were, firstly the future of these sex advertisements, which people are a bit sceptical about, in my view the future technologies which would be introduced would make these type of advertisements, more interactive and also engaging. As the customers to who the ads cater to will be better able to generate desires for the particular product and hence buying the product would make them highly satisfied. Also in terms of the society's prospective as well, this would lead to less spill over since the ads would become more personal, keeping in mind the age, likes, dislikes, etc of a customer. The company would be able to provide an appropriate ad for the customer. For instance if the customer is a teenager, then the advertisements which the company provide would be relevant to his or her age. But this could lead to some disadvantages as well, which is that if the company targets the advertisements to a wrong person, a molester,or a rapists, he may he encouraged  to do so even in the future, as the main message from sex ads is that women are just objects, and can be treated any way.

Even this class form me was a 10/10. Not because of the fact that my group presented today and good evaluation, but also because the other presentations were very interesting and knowledgeable. Since this was the last class with Prof Shahi, we even had a class and group photo. Ending the class on a very happy note.

This class has not only taught me to be open minded but rather has also explained me as to what an open and optimistic mind can do. That is, to make someone a rising star or the dominant player in the future. The other most important thing I have learned is about the field of analysing and forecasting future technologies. Which is as important as it is innovating. As it is very important to judge as to how could a new or emerging technology affect humans and the world. That is, checking its advantages, disadvantages, the type of technology such as whether is it disruption or non disruptive, etc. So that the right measures could be taken accordingly and minimise the effect of the disadvantages it poses. I  also got to know innovation and invention with a deeper prospective, understanding the subtle difference between the two.
Hence this course for me was a holistic development of my thinking capabilities and also taught me how to apply and analyse theories and concepts. Specially I found week-4, the most interesting. Wherein we discussed drivers of world change and change management. Revolving around the main topic: "the importance of adopting with the change rather than resisting." The Prof also, in this class discussed his "pro actively the adopting change model". Which he connected to a normal person's romantic life. Which was awesome and made me properly understand. This lecture also included the Prof's segregation into rising stars, falling stars and dominant player.Which formed a basis of almost all top companies or individuals in various fields. As they also have the same traits which rising stars have.
Making the whole experience a memorable one.

This week's class was the starting of the group presentations. I was really apprehensive about these two classes as in one of them even my group was to present. For which we were preparing from at least five weeks or so. Hence it would be a hard earned triumph if the presentation went well.
This class was as interesting as any other class in which Prof was in charge of the proceedings. In terms of the knowledge it had to offer.
The first presentation was about futuristic buildings. Which was quite a interesting topic in itself. The group in brief talked about the history, where are we headed and the implications as well.
In the presentation I had quite a number of interesting observations, which also bought along many questions in my mind with them, as the team talked about history related with building materials used for building buildings, I was completely mesmerised to see some of the past buildings made, with no possible modern age equipments, for example the concrete used to make the Roman Colosseum. Which directly raises a question in my mind, which is that: "If in the old ages, people were as creative and as innovative compared to the people today, then what is it that differentiates the old from the new?" Because the actual base was set by them, the future generations only innovated on what was always there, meaning that we do not have anything original. The real work of invention was done by our predecessors. This can be one possible cause to the segregation between the richer communities and the poor ones, which is that the predecessors of the richer communities today must have been more active and inventive. Which gave these particularly a solid base to start their progress on.
In the presentation the future also seemed attractive due to the pictures of the innovatively designed buildings. Secondly what fascinated me was the fact that in the coming future less susceptible elements would be used.
This would include mainly, spider webs,bendable concrete, hempcrete, etc. Sounding impossible right now, could surely be developed in the future with dedication and also optimistic attitude. Where in failures would be welcomed.
The other presentation which I thought as jaw dropping was the one on nanotechnology, because of the fact that I had seen this technology only in use in the movie "G I Joe". Making me quite inquisitive to know about this new technology. The fascinating applications I found of this technology was the fact that, first time there is something to protect the nurses and doctors from the bacteria that they are exposed to everyday,( other than antiseptic hand washes). As this technology has a application to make lab coats or masks with nano sized silicon particles that would actually repel the other microscopic materials. This application is commercialized by the firm- Vestagen Technical Textiles.
The other fascinating thing was the political impacts which nano technology could have. As the ones discussed by the group were very relevant and also feasible. The best part I found was that in a country like India where one needs strict tracking of people to better implement the existing laws and stop crimes such as rapes, molestations. One application of nanotechnology is  best suited. Which is that this technology will improve surveillance technologies such as cameras, listening devices, tracking devices, etc. Which in turn would help the Indian government in some way to find the accused and provide justice.

Hence to conclude, I will been taking a lot many key take away points, making it a 10/10 class. With the heavy  intellectual discussions which were going on in the class, I had the most important take away point, which is that innovations were, are and will continue to take place at a fast pace, what ones needs to do is just be open to change and always have the attitude of a rising star or a eagle so that he or she can better identify cloud or summit opportunities and exploit them to dominate the other players.

The week was the last session of the knowledge insights provided by our Prof. The session topic itself was a sum up for TWC. Which is forecasting and assessing new technologies in terms of their economic, social and commercial impact on our current world.
Even before starting I had one important insight, which was that even though there may exist world changing future technologies which may change everything, but still its impact will highly be dependent upon the savvy nature of the current customers and the potential ones. Also it depends upon the comfort of these customers with adopting new changes in this field. This is one main reason I feel is the root cause of some societies being left behind and some prospering. and can even stand as one solution to Yali's question. Which is broadening the mind of people in accepting change in every field even technologies. This is also one main reason why Cloud Computing, a future technology which has immense capabilities is not able to get a good foot hold in the market.

The class started of with some quotes by famous people. Which in my view propagated the same message more or less, which is to secure ones future ones need to adequately invest in the present and have the attitude of a rising star so that one can easily identify summit or cloud opportunities in the future and exploit. This class had more theory than any other of the TWC sessions which I have attended with the Prof.  Prof facilitated the discussion with the current drivers which forces us to analyze the future technologies. In my view the most important is the need to decide and prioritize as to where and when does one spend on research and development of new innovations and technologies. As soon as Prof talked about this, interestingly China came into my mind, which has been behaving like a rising star and is from the past decade investing in the right areas such as it is the highest contributor towards spending on solar energy. As discussed in week 9.
Prof in comparison also talked about India and Thailand in the past who had spend a lot of money in fancy X rays, MRI scans, etc. However at the same time these countries had lot many bigger and adverse problems such as poverty, hunger, etc. Hence were critized. Even though they must have invested keeping in mind the future such as it could bring in tourism and earn foreign exchange, but was not worth it in the short term to eradicate poverty and hunger. Therefore investing in the right place is the key to gaining superior position in the future.
We also discussed the main reasons as to why do we bother to do future insights. The primarily reason was analyzing the future potential of future technologies which I my view is very essential. For instance the use of driverless cars and robots, if they are extensively used in the future will end up taking jobs of so many low education level workers such as drivers, maids, traffic police, etc. This can further lead to many social problems and unrest such as increase in thefts, murders, etc. Which these people will undertake to make a living and earn their bread.
We later on even the basic methods that are used for the  forecasting of future technologies. And one interesting observation I had was the fact that even though there were so many advance and better methods of forecasting, however most of the countries still preferred Literature review.
Also later on we discussed the major use of forecasting which was for policy recommendations which is the most essential so that there are certain boundaries for the use and application of the technology  so that it does not in the future disrupt mankind in a negative way.
Hence the key take away which I had from this class was the fact that assessment and future technologies is as important as it is to invent new ones. This field of forecasting also holds lot of opportunities in the future. Given the fact that there are new innovations happening at such a fast pace. Hence this session provided as the main framework for this field.
Hence I would like to give this session a 9/10.

 

 

This weeks class was about future and emerging technologies. Not only because this is my topic of interest but also due to the fact that I had my oral presentation this week. This weeks lecture was also as interesting as the topic of discussion itself.
The main motive of this week's class was not to elaborate on new and fascinating technologies but also to dwell on its commercial, economics and societal impacts and also management of technology.
With regard to this, we also highlighted the fact that imagination is more important than knowledge.
Adding to one interesting point, which is that knowledge binds one thinking  and capabilities to a limit where as imagination is boundary less.  Hence Future and Emerging technologies would have not been possible with out imagination.
We further discussed the drivers for new technologies, which were market demand and supply forces, growing scientific and technological know how, supply creating demand, etc.
However in my view,  as the world  is getting globalized, more and more technologies are being exchanged, the standard of living of people is increasing. This leads to the increase in the possibility of the scenario where in the supply leads to demand such the Sony Walkman, Apple I pod, I phone models, etc. Moreover the advertisements have become more and more persuasive and continually aimed at the younger generation and the children as they are the future buyers, hence making sure the loyalty of this section of buyers in the future. Hence I feel that the main driver of change is the increase in general awareness of people an their standard of living.
The class then discussed some world changing technologies, such as the plastics which would replace silicon, which was the key take away point for me in the class, as this would solve half the problems relating to backwardness of certain communities and countries due to lack of awareness and knowledge of the world. As if silicon is replaced by plastics, first of all, laptops and other internet portable devices such as mobiles will become cheap hence more affordable and at the same time more accessible. This can even  pose as one possible practical solution to Yalis's question. As greater increase in accessibility of the internet means that more and more people have an equal chance to become eagles by gaining information and using it in the right directions. Other interesting new technologies which I found fascinating was nanotechnology, as I had only heard of it in actions movies and hence further gathering knowledge about it was fun.
The most interesting part of the class was not the fact that we just discussed the impacts of new technologies, but also what causes the inventions of these new and fascinating technologies. The first one being imagination, which I have discussed about above. And the second one being commitment, as commitment is the thing which distinguishes the do-ers and the thinkers as it takes it further in life.
Hence this weeks class was a 10/10. Since this was one of the topics which I enjoyed thoroughly  and also at the same time increased by  knowledge as well. Nothing further could have been done to further improve the class.

This weeks session was about energy and world change, and in specific past present and future.
Like always we covered a large topic in depth and also some what managed to think of reasonable answers to world problems, regarding energy resources.
Prof started the class by commenting on the fact that the next big industrial revolution is the shift from fossil fuels to other renewable resources of energy. Since this transformation is not optional but mandatory as the linear trajectory which humans follow to meet all his needs would lead to a dark future for everybody, as by doing this we are not only causing harm to ourselves but our future generations as well. 
 Though it is very wrong to say that humans are not doing any thing to improve it, rather in todays time there are some countries which have realized the reaction of their actions and are shifting towards sustainable and renewable resources to back their economics growth. Such as Brazil, which has started to  run vehicles from refined alcohol. Even though it has been recently found that Brazil is floating on oil. Germany on the other hand are in talks of installing a large scale solar plant in Africa and the Middle east. Which would be a huge investment in the short term but in the long term will aid the generation of a new source of energy for the world which would be renewable. Not only this, but Germany has in the past also been involved in many solar projection even though it does not receive much sunlight.
Interesting observations:
1. Even though there is technology to exploit renewable as well as reliable sources of energy such as solar, tidal, air, etc. only 19% is being used from these sources where as 71% is still based on fossil fuels.
2. If the opportunity cost of fossil fuels is added to its cost, it would  become unaffordable to most, making it even more imperative to shift to renewable resources.
3. Bio mass is again becoming a prominent source of energy. Which was one in the past.
4. One plausible reason for the fast paced rate of growth for the developed countries is the fact  they completely relied on fossil fuels, however for developing countries now, they cant completely rely on fossil fuels to sustain growth, as  neither can the environment  take more nor are there so many resources left. In my opinion I feel that this is some what a disadvantage for the developing countries as they are not given an even ground to compete and become developed. For instance, currently China is using 25% of the total oil which  USA uses, even though China has double the population of USA and is a developing country.
5. In one hour we receive so much energy from the sun that us as humans cannot consume in our life times, suggesting the immense capability of this resource and we still do not presently exploit it.
Also we further discussed that photovoltaic source of energy. the class noticed an unbelievable chart by an German professor which showed that with just 1Sq km of land, one could derive 170 GWH of energy.
We discussed the rising stars in this field as well such as China and Brazil, who may be developing countries but are intensively investing in Reseearch and
development for solar energy as they realize that it is the next biggest source of energy in the future.
This can be further seen in one of the slides in the presentation,  which shows that all the sources of energy below and above the ground is directly or indirectly is derived from the sun.
The key take away points which I would like to tale forward from this session are:
1. I would like to further research on the issue that not letting developing countries fully exploit fossils fuels to develop the country, like developed countries did is in any way a disadvantage for the developing countries or not.
2. I would like to even further search on whether are the current drivers of change sufficient for shifting towards alternatives sources of energy or not.
In opinion this session was a 9/10. As we covered all topics and elaborated on all aspects of energy in terms of past, present and also future and linked it with other concepts a well, making the class more interesting.    

This session was a continuation of the same topic in session six. Which is biotechnology. But more in terms of economic, social and commercial. Prof started the session with a video which showcased us, humans in a very negative light. comparing humans to parasite, though at first one does not believe the fact, but if we think over it, our actions resemble what parasites do, which is destroying the life support on which they live on.
We also had a small recap of all the previous important topics, which is the various fields of biotechnology. After this, the session was on agrobiology, environment and life sciences. 
There were many interesting observations which I had, in this session. The first was the fact itself that our Prof had himself written a research paper on the application of biotechnology in agriculture, making him much more aware and knowledgeable in area. Further more,  Prof also discussed the DNA similarity between humans, and Chimpanzees which was about 98% and also with Papaya tree  which was about 48%.
We further went on to discuss the various colors of biotechnology, namely  red, white, blue and green, also establishing their significance in the way. One big  interesting observation was the fact that the concepts laid by the Prof end up to be the fundamentals of almost all things. such as describing opportunities through the summit model, or rectifying the problems of humans being parasites by changing the methods of production by adopting a cyclic approach. 
We further talked about how  Agro- biology is being used over a thousands years now to give us our preferred dog breed form one single breed of dogs by altering DNA and  the increasing use of Genetically Modified crops. Which can  supposedly solve the problem of both world hunger and also environmental problems, in my view.
Though I found out a interesting thought  about GM foods, which is that people all over the world really have a varied view about GM consumption. For instance in Europe, people are dead against it, where as in countries like USA, the consumption is on a rise, irrespective of the fact whether the consumers are aware of it or not.
The other important discussion we had was the increasing use of enzymes, a biological catalyst, in many industries such as paper, rubber, etc. And also Bio based products such as bio based plastics, which can be manufactured more as opposed to the traditional process, as it prove to take up 30% to 50% less petroleum.  
I conclusion I feel that biotechnology is one field that has many applications, and also can solve many problems our world is facing today mainly: environmental degradation and food security, keeping in mind the scare resources. Though I may seem as very over ambitious, but I would really like to invest in this field, since this is the next big thing which is going to make a positive change in the world.
One more important key take away point I have taken from this session was the fact that agriculture which is as much a gain as it is loss. One of my colleagues through his oral presentation about " man kinds biggest mistakes", made me ponder about this fact. Hence I ball down to the conclusion that, be the excess of everything is bad. Hence I believe that, tackling social issues and issues of degradation can only be dealt with if  we deal with the growing population first and even within the growing population we need to reduce the discrepancy of income and wealth, so that no unnecessary demand is created.
In my view this session was a 9/10. Since we had good amount of discussions on all important aspects of the main topic. Increasing my understanding level.

Bio business, this weeks topic was a new topic for me which I had no back ground knowledge about.

 Until the class, bio business was something I thought was a new field and its application were still in the pipe line. But to my surprise it actually comprises of 25% of the total GDP and also 40% of the total labor force. As per a 2001 survey. Showcasing in itself the wide ranging awareness and usage of this technology.  We even saw an comparison of the amount of money spent on the bio business sector by South  Asia, East Asia and also USA. However the result was not to my surprise. About 52% of the health resources used by only 5% of the world's population. Contradicting in some ways, one of my collogues questions which he proposed to the class, "whether only the rich deserve to life for longer or preferably  forever?"  Since people living in more developed countries have better standard of living, better health facilities leading to them living longer than people in countries which have lesser health facilities, sanitation and hence lower life expectancy. As proved above.

Prof Shahi even explained the bio business arena in terms of the valley, summit, and cloud opportunities. Followed by the key opportunity areas of bio business.

 

One interesting observation I had was the fact that obesity which has  become such a pandemic that to create awareness it is a hot topic among all of  my courses.  Also suggesting the urgency that should be put in the matter .

One more interesting observation was, the opposite trend which the Sub Saharan African  countries are following, which is the increase in communicable, perinatal and nutritional condition and a decrease in chronic diseases. Suggesting directly the inequitable distribution of resources  and  wealth among the countries.

 

We further witnessed the revenue earned by the leading biotech companies. Showcasing a highly visible trend, which is  the drastic increase in  revenue from 1980 to 2001. Suggesting that it has wide range of application which are being exploited intensively.

Later in the class discussions,  I noticed a trend between the diseases in 1990 and the ones in 2020. The diseases listed in the 2020 list were  some what  the same but the threat to people was maximum from life style oriented diseases, such as road accidents, heart attacks, depression, etc.  I believe that we  could have in class, looked at the diseases in this prospective as well. To actually explain why is this a trend.

The prof further showed a video in class, which was mind boggling. Every thing was digitalized in the hospital. The best part I found was the digital purse which the lady in the video was carrying. And also the description of the medicine that appeared on the table itself on which it was kept on, making it easier for the patient to recognize which medicine to have without a lot of effort.  

 

This weeks class according to me was a 8/10. Providing me insight to this new topic in detail. Though I would have liked the session more if prof had gone into more detail of some topics such as the opportunity areas of bio business. Since I failed to grasp some areas.