Nikolas Badminton Chief Futurist

Nikolas will deliver an entertaining, energetic and motivational keynote that ignites curiosity, shifts your mindset from what is to what if, and teaches you how to think like a futurist. He will share stories of cultural shifts, insights into new disruptive technologies, and rethink how you establish winning strategies in your organization by deploying foresight.

As always, the keynote is built in collaboration with clients to create the most impact possible and help you…

• Understand the value of foresight - foresight is the missing link between strategic planning, disruption and our futures. See how it supercharges your organization by exploring positive and challenging futures.

• See global megatrends shaping geopolitical dynamics - economic power, population growth, water-energy-food, waste, climate change and energy. 

• Know the trends that will change your industry - I speak about many industries and do specific research into each client and theirs -Smart Cities and Urban Planning, Metaverse and Web3, Privacy and Security, Agriculture, Aerospace, Engineering and Manufacturing, Transportation and Logistics, Finance and Insurance, Future of Work, Artificial Intelligence and automation etc.

• Unlock a sustainability mindset - see how progressive ESG policy, United Nations SDGs, and circular economic principles will transform your organization.

• Operationalize foresight - how we can build anticipatory capabilities in your organization to drive more revenues and market capitalization

What does the world look like in 2030? What are the tipping points that will disrupt the transportation industry? What will likely be successful and widely adopted? How will sectors and companies adapt and who will be left behind? These are some of the core questions Nikolas will grapple with in this context-setting presentation. 

“Every initiative and new thought needs to come back to the importance of balancing the needs of humanity and its consideration of dynamics in our futures with respect to the water-energy-food nexus.” -Nikolas Badminton, Chief Futurist

Nikolas Badminton is the futurist keynote speaker that provides your audience with key insights, signals and trends relating to the Future of Water, Energy, and Food Nexus.

In this futurist keynote he will teach you 3 essential lessons:

• Understand global megatrends and the complex relationship between water, energy and food
• See the trends and exponential technologies are helping change our relationship with these foundations of society
• See how society needs to shift it’s mindset towards water management, clean energy, and sustainability.

Lesson: Understand global megatrends and the complex relationship between water, energy and food

There are forces in the world that have far-reaching impacts across our struggling industrial complex. These include, economic power shifts with China and India as first and second with the United States in third place, the population boom in Africa and Southeast Asia, movements to megacities that will be over fifty million people in size by 2050 (Lagos, Nigeria will be the largest), the worsening global drought and water scarcity with effects on growing food and energy production.

These are the areas where the most essential solutions need to be developed and the foundations of information, energy and transportation will be disrupted by new and existing players. Disruption must be expected. As Nikolas says, “You either change, or change will happen to you.”

Lesson: See the trends and exponential technologies are helping change our relationship with these foundations of society

Nikolas will guide you through the technologies that are helping transform and create resiliency in the water-energy-food nexus.

So many technologies are having an incredible impact – Big data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and machine learning, robotic automation, Internet of Things and the sensor economy, smart cities, genetic editing, sub-orbital Internet, cellular agriculture, solar power and photovoltaics, batteries, wind farms, anaerobic digesters, nuclear fusion, battery farms, super grids, fossil fuels, agriculture, agrifood, agribusiness, QSR, vertical farms, organic food, cellular protein, plant-based foods, Internet of Things, Precision Farming, Rooftop Gardens, Community Farms, Electrification, Electric Vehicles, hydrogen, biofuels, cybersecurity, Nanotechnology, quantum computing, Computer telepathy, and more.

Lesson: See how society needs to shift it’s mindset towards water management, clean energy, and sustainability

We’re at a critical point in history where we must create sovereignty and resiliency around the use of water and consider its impacts. We’re likely to see a 35% reduction in yields of global vegetable and legume production  by 2100 due to water scarcity and increased salinity and ozone (source: PNAS), and an effect on 98% of global electric power generation with a 40% shortfall of available water across the globe by 2030  (source: Nature).

There is good news – if we are to take affirmative action towards a cleaner and more sustainable future. We can provide 86% of global energy demand using renewable energy by 2050 (source: IRENA), and $1.8tr investment could produce up to $7.1tr in economic benefits (source: Global Commission on Adaptation).

Shift your mindset from what is to WHAT IF…

What if you create bolder visions of your futures, strengthen strategic planning capabilities, anticipate unforeseen risks, and understand the value it provides to the market, your customers, and your shareholders? What if you create an anticipatory organizational capability? And, what if you empower all employees to be curious about the futures that lay ahead of us in 10, 20 and 30+ years?

Future of… Keynote Series

Nikolas has tapped into his 35+ years of experience and over 300 futurist keynotes to develop specific research and insights into a number of key industries. Below are his featured Future of… keynotes:

• Futures Design
• Future of Innovation and Disruption
• Future of Work
• Future of Artificial Intelligence
• Future of Water, Energy, and Food Nexus
• Future of Waste
• Future of Aerospace, Engineering and Manufacturing
• Future of Logistics and Transportation
• Future of Agriculture and Agribusiness
• Future of Finance and Insurance
• Future of Urban Planning
• Future of Metaverse and Web3 / Digital Engagement
• Future of Privacy and Security

New ways of sustainable and innovative agricultural practices have never been needed more than they are today. In addition to farmers aiming to grow more crops, raise more livestock, and diversify we have big tech entering the game with billions of dollars of investment. The result? DIVERSITY and DISRUPTION! Nikolas will look at where we are today, the signals of change he sees, and the innovations that will change the world. We will see a world where there will be exponential farming in the lab, field and beyond

The world will change in the next 20 years more than it has in the previous 100. At the heart of that are technologies that are advancing at a pace never seen before – exponentially. Nikolas will provide a deep dive into the key exponentially developing and growing technologies that are changing the world, including Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and Robotics, Computational Systems, 3D Printing, Medicine/Neurosystems, Cybersecurity and Bioinformatics, Renewable Energy, Nanotechnology, and Quantum Computing.

The Internet surrounds us, binds us together as a society, and helps us with almost all aspects of our lives. Everything seems to be in its place and useful. But, in 2018 the world is changing. Social media is both the amplifier and controller of our emotions as we go about our daily lives. Algorithms optimize every aspect of lives, and ubiquitous connections across billions of devices capture our every move. The new world won’t look that different but, it will operate completely differently with these systems. Nikolas will help you look deeper into this new world and realize how the normal function of childhood, family and community is being altered and manipulated for profit. And, with our full permission.

Over 1000 smart city pilot projects are in progress today with over 500 of them being developed in China. The future city is going to have systems in place to create the ability to monitor and program the city to react to what is needed in real-time.

With this vision comes the implementation and rollout of renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro), self-driving vehicles (autonomous truck fleets, municipal transport, on-demand taxis, and personal vehicles), electric vehicles, the internet of things, with Big Data and Data Science at the heart of operations. Nikolas will look at how city planning is changing along with the core technologies being deployed and will profile the global cities that are embracing this approach.

The world will change in the next 20 years more than it has in the previous 100. At the heart of that are technologies that are advancing at a pace never seen before – exponentially. Nikolas will provide a deep dive into the key exponentially developing and growing technologies that are changing the world, including Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and Robotics, Computational Systems, 3D Printing, Medicine/Neurosystems, Cybersecurity and Bioinformatics, Renewable Energy, Nanotechnology, and Quantum Computing.

He will highlight the ‘signals of change’ that show how quickly the world is changing across industries – finance, agriculture, medicine, media, transportation and logistics, construction, and many more. Nikolas will also provide a view on ethical implications and insights on how these technologies affect planning, policies, and regulations at both the federal and state levels.

In 2018, we are at the horizon of change and are seeing the third industrial revolution take place with advances never seen before across the digitized communications, renewable energy, and automated transportation Internet. At the heart of all of these is Artificial Intelligence (A.I.).

Nikolas draws on his 20+ years of experience in big data, analytics and A.I. to look at how this revolution is starting and changing society, business, and personal life. The insights he provides gives to you deeper understanding of what he world will look like in 2030 by showing you the techniques, research, and systems that are being deployed across industries, cities, and transportation. He also looks at wider societal implications and the ethics around data, privacy, and how we are all going to be affected.