Signals of Change

Cell-Phone–Camera Commerce SoC405

The combination of ubiquitous high-quality cell-phone cameras, server-side object recognition, and image-processing software may change corporate practices and create new opportunities in many industries.

Pitfalls of Customization SoC406

Although companies commonly consider customization and personalization to be valuable additions to products and services that are means to increase margins and enhance customer loyalty, the additions are not always desirable or necessary. In fact, newer developments indicate that large consumer groups view them as costly distractions.

A Push for Geoengineering SoC407

Climate-change mitigation increasingly could turn out to be too little, too late. Therefore, despite being an extremely controversial concept, geoengineering is garnering considerable endorsement as a potentially viable approach to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Rare Metals SoC408

Some raw materials are more readily available than others, for a number of reasons—including geological abundance and political and economic forces. The supply of some highly important materials often involves a delicate balancing act between these factors.

Health-Care Innovation and Evolution SoC409

As the battle about health-care reform wages in the United States and other countries struggle with adjusting their own system, the health-care system and approaches in the United Kingdom provide some valuable object lessons in innovative research efforts and business models.

Buy-Now Strategies SoC410

In the face of recession-driven pressure on consumption, companies are experimenting with strategies to speed up consumers' purchase-decision processes; such buy-now strategies are especially promising in times when consumers are spending less and saving more.

Insights

The Intelligence of Machines: A Study of Artificial Intelligence D09-2606

Despite a great deal of academic discourse on the subject, no consensus exists about the definition of artificial intelligence—or even of intelligence itself. Given that caveat, this study defines artificial intelligence (AI) systems as systems that perform activities that people consider to require intelligence when humans perform them. AI is gaining traction because a need exists, and in many cases, artificial systems can perform the functions of a job that requires intelligence. However, uptake of artificially intelligent systems has a variety of legal, moral, ethical, and cultural implications. Further on the horizon, for instance, AI may evolve into an uncanny capability that does not emulate human intelligence but instead seems to have a mind of its own. Authors: Michael Gold, Kimberly H. Wiesbrock. 9 pages.

Scan™ Meeting Digest: 21 October 2009 Meeting D09-2607

This document is a digest of the Scan™ abstract clusters that participants in the 21 October 2009 Scan meeting identified. The digest includes a description of the Scan process for people who have never attended a Scan meeting, a list of the clusters that meeting participants identified, and a one-page description of each cluster's premise and supporting abstracts. The document has active links that allow the reader to access the supporting abstracts for each cluster in Scan's online abstract database. The document also has links to previously published Scan documents relating to the particular cluster. Clusters of abstracts for this October meeting included topics related to human resources, marketing, energy resources, development aid, migration, data collection, collaboration, education, consumer behavior, health care, science, robotics, and China. Compiler: Kimberly H. Wiesbrock. 38 pages.

Calendar

Scan™ Abstract Meetings

Scan abstract meetings (in which SRIC-BI [now SBI] staff participate in a free-form discussion of current Scan abstracts) are open for client observation/participation in Menlo Park on:

• 20 January 2010 at 9:00 am
• 17 March 2010 at 9:00 am
• 19 May 2010 at 9:00 am
• 7 July 2010 at 9:00 am
• 1 September 2010 at 9:00 am
• 3 November 2010 at 9:00 am.

Scan also sponsors occasional Scan abstract meetings in Croydon, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. Contact your SRIC-BI (now SBI) marketing representative to schedule participation in any of the Scan abstract meetings.