IBM's Vision for the Future: Utopian, Accepting or Dystopian? - Published on January 25, 2015

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty's masterclass in Board-level sales offers a fascinating insight in to the world of tomorrow (if we keep on going as we are). 23 minutes is a bit long in these bite-size times, but well worth sticking out at least the first 15-20 mins:
http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/uk/en/overview/ideas/index.html
Here are some headlines:

• There were 130 million smart meters deployed in 2011; by 2020 that figure is predicted to be 1.5 billion.
• 90% of all data known to man has been created in the last two years and that data ocean is growing exponentially. Data is the "new natural resource".
• Historically, the sole purpose of the formation of a company has been to reduce transaction costs. The basis of future competitive advantage will be based on prediction analytics optimisation.
• We are seeing the end of traditional customer segmentation in sales and marketing: the future is personal product placement based on automated social network analytics. 
• Social networks will also be the new "production line" in the corporate environment and the future of human resource management (corporate HR improved through H2H - "Human 2 Human" - protocols).

Understandably, Ms Rometty did not dwell on the potential down sides, though she did acknowledge "security" and "privacy" were areas of concern. I can think of several other concerns: data storage (how much out there is "noise"), lack of human contact/interaction and emotional fulfilment, growing use of energy, quality of life, equality, etc. 
Encouragingly, she did mention one fleeting example of how digital tech had created genuine value: a farmer managing to reduce water consumption by 10% and maintain or improve plant growth. To me this type of innovation was the only genuinely sustainable value offering that she mentioned a "Smarter Planet" might bring. For the whole system to maximise this potential requires all senior decision-makers to school themselves in "eco-literacy" and make it central to their every discussion.
Data may be a new resource, but it comes only indirectly from the natural world and it comes after water, food, security, shelter and community. Then again, she was addressing corporations, not people, and they do seem to be leading the way in areas like climate adaptation, so perhaps their innate survival instincts will provide for us all. Fingers crossed.
(Image credit: Luc Legay)