S04 EP. 15 Mark van Rijmenam - Navigating Hype Cycles in Tech: Communities, Prototyping, and Convergence

Boundaryless Conversations Podcast

In this new episode of the Boundaryless Conversation Podcast, Mark van Rijmenam examines the hype cycle surrounding AI and the perceived decline of interest in the Metaverse. He argues that these emerging technologies are not mutually exclusive and that the Metaverse still has significant potential for development with the application of AI.

Dr Mark van Rijmenam is an international keynote speaker, author and entrepreneur. He is a leading future tech strategist who thinks about how technology changes organizations, society and the metaverse. Globally recognised speaker and expert on disruptive innovation and how we can benefit from emerging technologies such as big data, blockchain, AI and VR/AR, Mark wrote “Step into the Metaverse: How the Immersive Internet Will Unlock a Trillion-Dollar Social Economy”, detailing what the open metaverse is and how organizations and consumers can benefit from the immersive internet.

Mark stresses the importance for organizations to develop digital capabilities (which he refers to as “DNA”), to stay ahead of technology trends and avoid getting caught up in hype cycles. We also discuss the challenge of developing responsible and ethical technology, with suggestions for oversight boards and regulatory requirements to ensure alignment with ethical values.

Key highlights

👉 Being part of communities online and offline is essential to discovering and understanding new technologies.

👉 Convergence is important to understanding how new technologies will combine with existing trends.

👉 The pattern of “hype and crash” for emerging technologies has occurred repeatedly in the past.

👉 Organizations need to develop digital capabilities to understand and stay ahead of emerging technology trends today.

👉 The lines between the digital world and the physical world are blurring, with implications for both work and private life.

👉 Reading about new technologies is not enough - practical application and critical thinking are necessary to truly understand them.

👉 Organizations, startups, regulators, and consumers must work together to educate themselves on the importance of an open Metaverse in a digital society.

Topics (chapters):

(00:00) Why Your Organization Needs to Start Preparing Today for the Future.

(00:52) Mark van Rijmenam introduction

(02:22) Assessing New Technology: Communities, Prototyping, and Convergence

(11:08) The Metaverse vs. AI: Debunking the Hype Cycle

(15:17) Building Digital Capabilities for Organizations to Stay Ahead of Technology Trends

(23:59) The Challenge of Instilling Ethics in Technology Development

(29:54) The transformative impact of the Metaverse, Generative AI, and IT convergence on organizational models, business models, and social agreements

(40:08) The Importance of an Open Metaverse for Digital Society

(43:56) The Importance of Digital Literacy: Learning to Fly in the Digital World

Remember that you can always find transcripts and key highlights of the episode on our website: https://boundaryless.io/podcast/mark-van-rijmenam

Recorded on 13 March 2023.

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Music

Music from Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: https://blss.io/Podcast-Music