The Future is not what it used to be!

• February 15, 2006: 3:00pm - 4:30pm
• Contact: Travis Richardson
• Location: HP Auditorium, 306 Soda Hall

Please join us for a CITRIS/EECS Colloquium on Feb. 15 by Jean Paul Jacob , IBM Research, Emeritus and Lecturer, UC Berkeley, from 4pm- 5:30pm in 306 Soda Hall. "The Future is not what it used to be!"

Abstract:
Ask a technologist about the future, and the answer will likely center on nanotechnology, biotechnology and communication networks ... a knowledge-based "digital economy".  Ask an economist the same question and the answer, while similar, may end with "digital economy rooted in services."   In this talk, we use a dusty crystal ball to see where technology innovations should take a services economy.  For example, the Cirque du Soleil, definitely an entertainment service, creates innovative complex and stylish performances that expand the traditional circus audience to include also "adults not bringing children" and technophiles (informivores) who can only begin to imagine the computing power behind the scenes. To help us understand this emerging ecosystem of technology, services and management, Berkeley is starting a new interdisciplinary certificate program, SSME (Services: Science, Management and Engineering). Come hear why -- now more than ever -- this means that ... the Future is not what it used to be!