The Future is Here…It’s Just a little Slow

1st of September, 2017

The future is upon us, its just starting out a little slow. But don’t be fooled or underestimate just exactly what is happening and what the undisputable outcome will be.

It just may surprise us where these changes are popping up and the massive impact they will have.

Recently I was in Darwin, my youngest making the SA State footy team and we stayed in an apartment on the beautiful Waterfront. A spectacular view and another classic example of how infrastructure & some congregation of population gives some land a locational advantage resulting in sky high apartment prices!

It is staggering when you think about it – Waterfront land is abundant in Darwin. Its population a mere 110,000. Less than 230,000 in the entire NT. Yet a 3 bed apartment with water views equilivant to what you could find is the Docklands Melbourne will still set you back $1m!

Sorry I digress – but I just see the application of our economic and investment theories everywhere I look….

So quietly sitting on the balcony enjoying the view over the trees to the water I was surprised to see a square box on wheels ambling down the walkway….

You see this Driverless, low cost Bus, provides a safe transport solution with zero carbon emissions. Moving up to 12 tourists, or the like, around the Darwin Waterfront Precinct, albeit at a snails pace (the Bus is limited to 20km/ph) it uses sensors including lidars (or lasers) and GPS to scan and navigate its ever changing environment on predefined network routes.

This is just one of many driverless innovations currently underway across Australia.

Even my home town of Adelaide is coming to the party with electric shuttles being used at Adelaide Airport to move passengers between the main terminal and the long-term car park as well as driverless vehicles providing transport shuttles and cargo deliveries at Tonsley’s Innovation Campus

Nay-sayers of the coming driverless revolution point to all of the problems and faults with the current systems assuming what we see now is:

1. The technology that will be adopted
2. What we see is as good as it gets

Both of these thought processes are wrong.

A recent survey said that only 23 per cent of respondents said they’d feel safe in a car that drives itself – and that is understandable (and reasonable) given where the technology currently is at. Remember this is just the testing and trial phase.

With the exponential speed at which AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Deep Learning is expanding we will quickly solve the current technological limitations that are being confronted delivering an outcome that will both exceed our expectations and our imagination.

When we think about driverless cars we tend to picture cars speeding down the freeway. However, these technologies will have much wider application than merely getting commuters to and from work.

The economic and investment impact will be truly astounding. It has the promise to revolutionise society like the advent of the combustion engine or John J. Lou 1888 invention of the ballpoint pen.

Where this story goes is beyond our imagination – however WE DO KNOW THE OUTCOME!

Such a revolution will create an abundance of investment opportunities as well as marginalise subsections of the community and business world. Like all previous upheavals there will be winners and losers. Your only decision is which one you will be?

At Calnan Flack we are here to help.