Exponential Wisdom

Peter and Dan discuss the power of Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS) and its utility to thousands of companies in both traditional and non-traditional sectors. By adding an AI layer to your organization, AIaaS tools can help any company achieve scale with minimal increases in headcount, fueling data-driven business decisions, personalized marketing efforts, team efficiency, and countless other benefits. In this episode: Dan elaborates on a quote by Gino Wickman — “Systemize the predictable so you can humanize the exceptional” — and uses it as a framework for understanding AI-human collaboration.  Illustrating several examples (e.g. AIs that help doctors diagnose patients in real time), Peter discusses how he is using “AI as his ‘WHO’” to run experiments across his organizations.  Dan delves into the importance of teamwork between humans and technology, a partnership he claims will be key for competitive businesses in decades to come.

Peter and Dan showcase a number of entrepreneurs working on wireless power, virtual workplaces, and educational platforms with built-in facial recognition.  In this episode: Peter discusses Guru, a company that has built a wireless charging system that transmits electricity using high-frequency radio waves. By combining this technology with 5G, businesses like Guru might soon usher in a wireless world.  Peter gives an update on eXp Realty, which has zero physical offices yet thousands of real estate agents, all of whom engage in virtual workplaces for meetings, training sessions, and the like.  Dan and Peter discuss David Sinclair’s “information theory of aging,” a compelling theory regarding why we age.

Peter and Dan discuss the state of quantum computing and Google’s announcement that they achieved ‘quantum supremacy’ in October 2019.  In this episode: Peter gives a general overview of what quantum computing is and why this matters to entrepreneurs.  Dan and Peter discuss the skill of asking great questions and why general AI’s will soon assist every aspect of our lives.  Peter mentions a few unexpected consequences of converging technologies like 5G, broadband satellites, and quantum computing available on the cloud for free.

Peter and Dan discuss entrepreneurial breakthrough stories specifically in the energy industry. They talk about the importance of timing in launching a new venture and why the 2020’s will be the decade of exponential energy. In this episode: Peter mentions a company “Energy Vault” that is specializing in gravitational energy storage. Its primary product is a gravity battery that utilizes a multi-headed crane to store energy in a stacked tower of heavy blocks made from concrete.Dan mentions that energy is becoming exponential, because as more and more energy is available, human aspirations for using energy increases. Peter discusses another company “Heliogen” that is using concentrated solar energy to exceed temperatures greater than 1,000 degrees Celsius, transforming sunlight to create and replace fuels.

Peter and Dan discuss an effective strategy whereby entrepreneurs and established companies eliminate competition, not by overtaking competitors, but rather by building new partnerships through collaborative opportunities. In this episode: Dan defines and illustrates his concept of the “free zone frontier.” By establishing a partnership between two well-positioned capabilities, one party--the designated “simplifier”--provides a new solution while its counterpart serves as a massive “multiplier.”  Peter offers the example of Amazon’s open sourcing of its internal company software platforms, allowing competitors to use its services and, in turn, make them cheaper for Amazon. By purchasing Amazon fulfillment and customer service, for instance, firms gives Amazon far more data, improving their services while making them cheaper. Dan and Peter highlight numerous cases of entrepreneurs that provide value to clients without anything in return, and thereby validate the products of their business partners. This eventually leads to massive revenue streams and sustainable, trusted businesses.

Peter and Dan discuss the oncoming wave of 3D-printed homes, soon to grant us far cheaper, more accessible, and environmentally sound alternatives to traditional housing. Offering numerous implications across materials science, market competition and the wealth gap, Peter and Dan demonstrate how both the construction and real estate industries will experience monumental disruption in the coming decade. In this episode: Peter emphasizes the need to constantly experiment with emerging technologies and novel materials exiting the R&D stage, as well as the importance of integrating 3D printing into your own business.
 Dan analyzes his concept “don’t compete when you can collaborate,” explaining the benefits of seeking out and constantly building new partnerships. 
 Peter showcases the company New Story, an innovative nonprofit founded in 2015 that pioneers solutions to end global homelessness.

Peter and Dan discuss the first-order implications of artificial intelligence. As technologies like AR/VR, AI and blockchain converge to disrupt traditional business models and processes, countless tasks will become far easier, reducing business costs and time expenditures.   In this episode: Peter discusses the latest breakthroughs in augmented reality, validating his belief that AR will become ubiquitous by 2030. Dan emphasizes the importance of skills training, and justifies why AI will transform the education industry. Peter projects AI’s trajectory of becoming more and more knowledgeable. As data explodes in both quality and quantity, middlemen will no longer be needed in most industries.

With the rise of exponential health technologies, Peter and Dan investigate newly available business opportunities using their “first order implications” framework. When biotech advancements turn sickcare into healthcare, and science adds an additional 20-30 healthy years to our lifespans, what new markets emerge (and which ones disappear)? Peter and Dan discuss the implications to businesses, customers, and society as a whole. In this episode: Dan delves into the social implications of people having longer professional lives, predicting that mandatory retirement will be moved back by at least 10 years. Peter discusses education industry transformations that will result from people having 2-3 careers. Similarly, once people begin to have far more free time, implications within the travel, tourism, and entertainment industries will unlock new challenges and business opportunities. Peter forecasts our increased food demand over coming decades as people live longer. Consequently, he and Dan project a surge in the lab-grown meat market, which will lead to better-tasting, lower-waste, and far more environmentally sound food production.

Peter and Dan launch into a comprehensive update on space exploration. As governments and corporations alike pursue reusable spacecraft, extra-planetary manufacturing tools and cheaper launch systems, this discussion focuses on the remarkable initiatives of private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, now eclipsing government capabilities in speed and scale. In this episode: Peter examines the primary reasons for which today’s space companies focus on reusable launch systems and landing large payloads on the Moon. Dan and Peter discuss how the human body reacts to long-term, zero-gravity environments, as well as the precautions needed when living on the Moon or in extra-planetary colonies. Peter describes three convergences that, while yet to materialize, will open trillion-dollar assets in space over the next few decades.

Peter and Dan discuss the transformation of construction and real estate, as solar energy, 3D printing, augmented reality (AR) and new materials science breakthroughs begin to permeate every facet of the way we design, construct and inhabit built spaces.   In this episode: Dan uses historical examples to demonstrate the notion that process has often defined the real estate and construction industries (think: the premade Sears house kits, which democratized home design for American consumers). He further teases the question: how will today’s explosion of versatile and autonomous construction methods redefine architecture and interior design? Peter depicts a future wherein homes are designed as both functional spaces and augmented reality canvases, unlocking virtual living for AR users. White walls might become the day’s scenery of choice; compact homes allow for multi-use efficiency; and sensor-embedded walls allow homeowners and office managers to monitor everything constantly. Dan and Peter agree on AI’s collaborative role in designing, beautifying, and optimizing human homes. Our new creative assistants, AIs will serve to both enhance our aesthetic and streamline energy-efficient construction.