John Cooksey and the Nexttech Transformation Forum's Think Tank

 An amazing session of connecting, collaborating, contributing with an amazing Nexttech Community.

Rob Nankervis ,  Craig Saphin, Cassandra Parton and Hendrik Lourens  unpacking the think tank.

Augmented reality has been around Smriti 2 million years!

An interesting article by Bill Davidow ..... are you just a machine? 

would be interested in your views 

By William Davidow

Author—The Autonomous Revolution—Reclaiming the Future We’ve Sold to Machines

Hominids have inhabited virtual space for over two million years. Using the tool of virtual space, the homo species became the dominant species on earth. 

Evolution provided hominids with virtual space to facilitate their survival, ability to create human society, and to improve the quality of their lives. Virtual space provided them with greatly increased access to knowledge and new forms of fascinating entertainment. 

Augmented reality was a key component of the experience.

So, let’s examine the virtual space nature created.

If a tree falls in the wilderness and there is no one there to hear it, it does not make a sound. 

If no one is in an art gallery, the paintings have no colors. 

If a perfume bottle is open and there is no one nearby to smell it, it has no scent. 

Sounds, colors, smells, tastes, and hotness are only there if they are being observed. They do not exist in the physical world. They are creations of our senses and brains. 

Our senses sense the wavelength of light reflected by the object we are observing, not its color. Those wavelengths impinge on the cone cells in our retina that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light. 

If one is observing a lemon, adjacent red and green cones are activated. Our brain processes those signals coming from adjacent cones and creates the color yellow in our brain.[i] 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s, 1910 still-life of yellow lemons and a cup is a colorless piece of canvas if no one is observing it.

In the physical world, there is no music, only sound waves. Our brains create the perception of music. Our brains create the pain we feel when we touch a heated surface. That pain is an interpretation of what our senses feel which is rapidly vibrating molecules.

Just think of it, when our senses add colors to a painting or turn a sound wave into music, our brains are augmenting reality. Augmented reality has been with us for two million years, not twenty.   

Our virtual space plays a key role in our relationships and enhances our ability to survive. 

Verbal communication facilitates relationships, enables us to organize group activity, and enhances our ability to respond to threats. Verbal communication depends on our ability to use our vocal cords to create sound waves and the ability of our senses to convert those vibrations into sounds our brains can interpret as language.

Language made it possible to organize group activities and communicate abstract ideas. Language played a key role in making humans the world’s dominant species.

Language greatly increased our access to knowledge. 

Before writing and the internet, it helped people learn from one another, made it possible to gain knowledge of what was happening in distant locations, and share history. 

Virtual space also provided new forms of entertainment. 

Language made it possible to tell stories. Music and singing all depend on our ability to hear. Colors make art more beautiful and meaningful. 

Virtual space is a mental tool, not unlike physical tools such as a hammer, knife, or fire, that put mankind in charge of the world.

 So, since birth you have been living in a simulated world—a virtual space. Of course, since we have always lived in virtual space, we thought it was real and never bothered to give it a name like “virtual space.” Today we are so confused about the virtual space we live in that we call it the real world.

Recently, mankind claimed to have invented virtual space. 

The espoused goals of its inventers were to make the world a more prosperous and better place, provide us with instant access to the world’s information, and provide us with new forms of fascinating experiences—just like nature’s form of virtual space has been doing for two million years.

The inventors of the new virtual space sincerely believe they have invented something entirely new rather than an information technology enhanced and deeply flawed version of a two-million-year-old invention. 

Nature’s tried and true virtual space came up with a system that made hominin survival possible for two million years. It accomplished that remarkable feat by unselfishly providing mankind with tools that served his survival needs.

 If the new virtual space, with less noble values, is going to be around for the next two million years, it has a lot to learn from the great job nature has done.

The Grand Old Lady is returning to become “the Jewel of Sydney Harbour

Matt O’Sullivan of the #SMH this morning shared the announcement from Transport Minister Andrew Constance who proudly stated  that The Lady Northcott will be returning to grace herself on  the harbour once again after retiring gracefully from her ferry service in 2017. The Minister said 

“The Lady will not only be great for tourists and locals, but she will provide Aboriginal youth with specialised training programs while out on the water.” 

Shane Phillips, Chief Executive of Tribal Warrior says that they have been given the honour to refurbish and repurpose the Lady to be the Jewel of the Harbour - giving cultural tours and showcasing Aboriginal culture on the waterways of Sydney! 

Tribal Warrior is a Redfern Charity which has an amazing history and a track record of mentoring many young Aboriginal people who went on to secure permanent positions in the maritime industry.

The Lady has accumulated many passionate  supporters over the past 40 years - including  over over 20 engineers, deckhands and Masters who have created  a Whatsapp Group called “friends of Lady Northcott” and the “Yarning Circle’s #bbgforum” who have worked with Tribal Warriors to make this dream come true! 

Graeme Taylor, from community group Action for Public Transport, said the return of the Lady Northcott to Sydney Harbour was a “win-win for everyone”.

“The boat is as solid as Fort Denison,” he said. “The Lady-class ferries were an integral part of the image of the city. They were enormously popular and carried millions of passengers during their working lives.”

Shane Phillips Chief Executive of Tribal Warriors said 

“Through cultural tours of Sydney Harbour, we want the Lady to bring people of Sydney together as a community and create a legacy - so that our children will tell the story. Let’s prove we can do this as a community - by our actions - and help this  Lady to be a Vessel  for us to give back to the City of Sydney.” 

Shane saying  Thank You to the  Friends  of Lady Northcott and the Yarning Circle .

Sydney Morning Heralds article this morning 

“One of Sydney’s last grand dames set to return to harbour https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one-of-sydney-s-last-grand-dames-set-to-return-to-harbour-20210115-p56uhi.html”

The Power of sharing Stories at our Diversity Equity and Inclusion #bbgforum - our “Yarning Circle”

May 2021 

April 2021

Inspiration at the same firm for 40 years - is it possible in the Nexttech Revolution

Congratulations Hazel Lerman 

It is very seldom these days for someone to be at the same firm for 40 years!

There is some serious magic in this video!

What is the magic formula that will enable a firm to continually enthuse, engage and inspire their biggest asset.... the right people .... to stay and grow with them?

The average millennial will now have 20-30 jobs and a number of career changes over hos/her/their life! 

What do you need to do  to stay relevant in the #nexttechrevolution ?

You need to be up to date with the rapid changes that are happenning - 

• You need to continually learn.
• You need to build your network of alliance partners that you know like and trust
• You need to give back
• You need to have a spirit of generosity

You need to be a lifelong learner

The Nexttech Revolution in the Financial Services Sector

The financial services is in the process of major disruption - where those that will survive will need to shift from being  product-centric to customer-centric. 

Maybe a solution is for them to  partner with data-centric tech firms whose core focus is on the customer.

These data-centric tech firms (DCTF) lack the legacy, invest in new technologies, and understand how best to manipulate data to deliver positive commercial outcomes for the customer.

They can hold and process volumes of data far more efficiently than financial institutions, with this efficiency increasing exponentially - faster than Moore’s law!

The banks have something that DCTFs want -  strong existing customer bases, which trust them to safely and securely hold their money and their most sensitive data. 

A financial institution working with a DCTF to combine elements of the traditional supply chain into a single integrated delivery platform will be deadly and potentially solve a wicked problem! 

Let’s create the “Nexttech  Financial Services  Forum” which will explore strategies to connect DCTFs with financial institutions and help negotiate this positive change - to  shift them from a product-centric to a customer-centric delivery model, and investigate new ways to provide personalized services for clients and customers.

What banks need to do to add massive value 

• Have a mindset of collaboration and Embrace partnership. Hyperscales have the funding, scale and capacity to support and accelerate the transformation of legacy businesses. They focus on a frictionless customer experiences

• Educate senior leadership. The financial institutions’ C-suite leaders must develop an understanding of new and evolving technologies, such as cloud. Only with this clarity of knowledge around critical technologies can leaders best evaluate the opportunities that these technologies present, their potential impacts to business and operating models, and the best strategic direction for the organization.
• Consider the impacts and implications of new technologies on the business model, the financial institutions will have to disrupt and transform - this will be done through collaboration with hyperscales. Maybe create financial services and technology forums - where they cam intersect and explore  new services, products and markets, empowered by access to the right data and APIs and a focus on the customer 
• Improve the storage of legacy data by working with technology firms or collaborating with fintech cloud providers. Maybe Blockchain solutions to avoid holding data? 

Inspired by a KPMG article https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2018/02/tech-giants-in-financial-services-fs.htmlwritten by Anton Ruddenklau - global co-leader of fintech at KPMG 

Sense of Belonging

Kala Phillips talks to Desi Australia - a multicultural magazine for the Indi- Australian community 

 https://www.desiaustralia.com/sense-of-belonging/

Every day I continue to navigate a world that has been both fundamentally changed by recent events and is now making a more intentional effort to end systemic racism, discrimination by religion, colour, race, gender or sexual orientation, social injustice, and inequality. It is my hope that we start thinking of ourselves as global citizens and as a human race.

There are millions of languages, religions, races, castes, cultures but the common thread between us all no matter where we come from is that we are human. Diversity leads to differences, some of us make the effort to tolerate and accept, others work on inclusive practices, but we need to enable a sense of belonging.

As migrants and now citizens, we live in a lucky country where endless opportunities lead to life changing journeys. We have the ability to do what we love, learn without limitations and adapt what is authentic and inspirational to us. We bring with us our rich tradition and heritage, and we also embrace the new future, its wonderful history and where we will be forming our next generations.

The last 16 years, I have tried to learn new cultures, walked a mile in someone else’s shoes and listened to someone else’s story that changed my perception of a whole community. It has made me see others through a different lens, given me peace and purpose, made me more grateful for my life and family, and allowed me to give back to the less fortunate.

I am part of a forum called “The Yarning Circle ” where we founding members are from all walks of life – First Australians, LGBTQI+, women, migrants, refugees, or physically challenged. We work for the community and for change. One of my projects is to listen to the stories of some incarcerated women, who suffered years of domestic violence and out of desperation they committed crime. I found purpose in helping them to find a job, to be financially independent and gain their dignity. 

My perception of them changed when I walked a mile in their shoes. I knew I had to UNLEARN my presumptions and hear their stories.

“We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion.”—Max de Pree