Innovation in the forecast

For the second year now, IBM posts their Next 5 in 5: a forecast of the five innovations that will change the way we live, work and play in the next five years.

I was nostalgic a few months back and made this post showing IBM's "You Will" ad-campaign via YouTube.  In the words of my friend, Jeff Maurone, the only thing that didn't prove true from those IBM innovation forecasts was the fact that IBM wasn't responsible for many (if any) of them!

Whether IBM or some other company introduces these new technologies to us doesn't matter... just so we can march forward and make it happen.  Let's just mark these predictions in the sand here and now.  Like a sort of time capsule, when this post is unearthed 5 years from now, will we be able to confirm that these technologies did, in fact, come to fruition?

1. 3D representations of our human bodies.  Hopefully we can say soon say goodbye to our archaic, inefficient means of keeping patient records and have a functional, universal system as IBM proposes.
2. Food with a digital passport.  We have plenty of smart phones and smart Internet search engines... why not smart food?  Our food is what keeps us alive, after all.
3. Tools to manage our own carbon footprints.  For example, our financial and cell phone data are organized and streamlined so efficiently nowadays.  Why not use this same technology to regulate our energy usage and ultimately help minimize our carbon footprint on our environment?
4. Cars that drive themselves.  As well-oiled as FedEx and UPS run their logistical operations, can we manage our own logistics in a similar, smart way?  It's only a matter of time until GPS and satellites are taken to the next level as a fully-networked, geographic and logistical communications system.
5. Cell phones that (literally) manage our lives.  The ubiquity and impact of cell phones in and on our lives has grown exponentially in just these past few years.  And as mobility and freedom are so important to us, why not better incorporate our currency and shopping methods into our cell phone use?

And perhaps the sixth prediction that aspiring entrepreneurs can add to this list is: How will we be a part of these revolutions?

Here's a nice clip that summarizes the 5 innovations that IBM outlines: