Ask a Futurist – The Future of Transportation (“The Lost Basement Tapes!”)

The folks at UPM – a global leader within the wood and lumber industry – interviewed me for an article they put together, Industrial Revolution 5.0 – driven by sustainability. It’s a great overview of the many trends shaping our world today. It’s a good read, and I was pleased to take a role. They also shared a wonderful snippet of a bit of our conversation.

We actually spoke for quite some time, and I ended up covering not just automotive, but 3D printing, sustainability, and even manufacturing in third-world economies. I decided to grab the original interview video, chop it up, give it a polish, and share it here. It’s a good 13-minute overview of some trends that matter.

Two key quotes from their article;

“I’ve got solar on my roof in my home here outside Toronto, Canada. I’ve got a Tesla in the garage. Theoretically, I’m a net-zero driver because I’m not really burning any resources,” says futurist Jim Carroll. “This fundamentally changes everything in terms of what we think sustainability is,” he adds.

“The industrial IOT, 3D printing and advanced scientific materials are taking us from a world of mass production to mass customisation, where we can manufacture products for a market of one. This really changes everything and perhaps the biggest potential impact comes from 3D printing,” predicts Carroll.

The future is faster than you think!