“Cars You Can Drive Will Eventually Be Outlawed”
http://www.theverge.com/transportation/2015/3/17/8232187/elon-musk-human-drivers-are-dangerous
We discussed heavily in class the disruptive innovation of autonomous vehicles. What I found most interesting however was not the technology itself but the regulatory implications.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors says that cars controlled by people will eventually be outlawed in favor of those controlled by robots. He compares it to that of the elevator where the development of simple circuitry led to the elevator operators’ extinction.
So when autonomous car adoption reaches a critical mass, will the government require car owners to purchase autonomous vehicles if they want to “drive” on main roads? Will the government provide a cash for clunkers program? Will they provide 0% interest loans to those who cannot afford the full cost for the sake of public safety? How do you think a government would even go about this?
AI + IoT = Good or Bad?
According to this article, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with the Internet of Things (IoT) is inevitable, and there are prominent people such as Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk that warn against what may result by the combination. Fears range from the simple (putting employees out of work) to the extreme (Terminator SkyNet scenarios), but there are also people like Kevin Hally (founding editor of Wired magazine) who see the integration of IoT and AI to bring huge benefits to business (i.e. cutting costs by automating tasks) as long as they remain “consciousness-free”.
With over 50 billion devices expected to be connected to the internet by 2020 (more than 7 times the entire human population as of now), what do you think the implications will be if billions of embedded devices are eventually connected to artificially intelligent machines? Do you think AI is still too far in the distant future to even worry about? And, arguably as important, how can AI become a disruptive innovation unto itself? Do you agree with Kevin Hally that soon start up businesses will start basing their business plans on “cognitizing” what was previously “electrified”, with AI eventually becoming a commodity like electricity currently is?
PlayStation Mobile Shutting Down..Reflections on the “Internet of Things”
As confirmed in this article, Sony has announced that it is shutting down its PlayStation Mobile service; this happened just ONE DAY after I recommended in my presentation last Tuesday that Sony use the service as part of its strategy to protect itself against new entrants such as OnLive that are attempting to disrupt the market. Launched in October 2012, the service will officially end on July 15, culminating in a mere existence of 2 years and 9 months (for those who weren’t in class for my presentation, PlayStation Mobile was basically a framework for an “app store” that hosted exclusive games and other content that catered to indie developers). A listing here shows that the service was compatible with 72 devices, including the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV, taking full advantage of the “Internet of Things”, or IoT. Yet, with such a broad range of compatibly and a strong brand name, the service was ultimately known for poor developer support, a weak game library, and a small user base.
In light of this failure by an established incumbent but the continued success of other services that take advantage of IoT devices (such as iOS, Android, and Valve’s Steam) and a wave of new entrants (such as OnLive, as from my presentation, and Nvidia’s Shield, as posted by James Brunetto), what do you think a company needs to do in order to achieve success and stay relevant with a service that is meant to be compatible on a wide range of popular devices? Was PlayStation Mobile not innovative enough? And what features would a service like this in the gaming industry need in order to truly be considered disruptive?
The Internet Of Things & Energy Costs
For my disruptive innovation project, I looked at “The Internet of Things,” one of the top disruptive innovations recently, and an idea that I was not familiar with. This concept is that of things all around us, from watches to refrigerators, being embedded with sensors that allow these devices to communicate and share data. In doing some further research, I found this article about how The Internet of Things can help companies slash their energy costs- a concept that I had no considered.
While I think many people focus on The Internet of Things as a way to make people more connected and make our lives easier, I don’t think there’s enough focus on the good that IOT can do. The article talks about how companies can use smart grids, which will run on the IOT, which allow energy distribution to be evaluated in real-time, rather than based on historical data. This will allow companies to more effectively manage their energy usage, thus saving them money and helping the environment through reduced energy usage/waste.
What other potential do you see for IOT savings money and doing good? Do you think there are applications for a smart grid in a smaller sense, rather than just for businesses?
The Five Most Disruptive Innovations At CES 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bigbangdisruption/2015/01/09/the-five-most-disruptive-innovations-at-ces-2015/
This year was the Consumer Electronics Show 2015 (CES) filled with big bang disruptors. There were disruptors from incumbents and start-ups with the likelihood to cause big changes. The five most disruptive innovations were:
1) Transportation – Autonomous Vehicles
2) Health and Fitness – The Quantified Self
3) Manufacturing – 3D Printing and Robotics
4) The Internet of Things
5) Augmented Reality
I found this article very interesting because the top five most disruptive innovations at the CES were covered in our class through our case analysis. Two of the five disruptive innovations I found amusing were the autonomous vehicle and 3D printing. I would have never thought in a million years we would have a self-driving car. When I listened to the presentation in class I was very fascinated with the information. My case analysis was on 3D printing which I also thought was interesting because I never knew much about the product. After reading this article, I learned a lot more about 3D printing and the new features. If technology is this advanced in 2015, I can only imagine how advanced technology will be 30 years from now.
The disruptive innovations at the CES fall in the “early market experiment stage of big bang disruptions.” According to Forbes, “Some–perhaps most of them–will never make it to mainstream success. But even those that don’t succeed send a strong signal to incumbents of imminent disruption when some entrepreneur hits on the right combination of new technologies and business models.”
What are your thoughts on this years Consumer Electronic Show? Do you think the innovations listed in this article and what we discussed in class will make it to mainstream success? Why or why not?
Apple’s New Macbook
Last week, Apple announced its new Macbook, which is a huge game changer and disrupter in not only the world of laptops, but in tablets as well. The iPad has been a long time rivalry with the Microsoft Surface, with the argument that more can be done on the surface since it is running Windows and the iPad runs iOS. In my opinion, with the MacBook’s new features it seems to be disrupting its own product line since the incumbent was the iPad (vs. the surface). Do you think the new MacBook is disrupting its own industry?
http://www.wired.com/2015/03/apple-new-macbook/
7 Disruptive Innovations That Turned Their Markets Upside Down
I feel this infographic within this article is a great example of products in the past that have been proven disrupters in their given markets. Since it has been such a focus in class, I think this article gives some great real world examples of modern disruptive products that we are familiar with and can relate to. Let me know what everyone thinks!
http://mashable.com/2011/10/09/7-disruptive-innovations/
Nvidia plays Shield console as Netflix for games
After the presentation on Tuesday involving video games/consoles, I thought this product was worth mentioning. In this article, Benny Evangelista, talks about Nvidia’s new console know as Shield. Priced at $199, Shield is described as “part smart TV, part game console, and part Netflix.” With an emphasis on gaming, Shield aims to stream video games the same way the Netflix streams videos. This would allow gamers to play instantly instead of waiting for hundreds of GB to download and plan to have 50 on-demand games by its launch date in May. Nvidia believes that with Sheild’s processor, it will be able to play games better than current video game consoles. Along with this, Shield will also have voice-controlled Android TV and will stream ultra HD online movies and video, play music, and display digital photos and running apps. With all these features, Nvidia hopes to make current video game consoles like PlayStation and Xbox obsolete. While also competing with streaming media devices like Apple and Roku.
Do you think that Nvidia’s Shield console has the ability disrupt the current video game console market and/or the streaming media device market? What suggestions/actions do you think companies in these markets should do to hinder Shield from gaining a share of the market?
Using Disruptive Innovation for Social Change
This article talks about how Mark W. Johnson (Clayton Christensen’s business partner) says that disruptive innovation is not about being better than what currently exists. He says disruptive innovation “transforms a complicated, expensive product into one that is easier to use or is more affordable than the one most readily available.You know an innovation is disruptive when a new population has access to products and services that previously were only affordable for the few or the wealthy.”
A subset of disruptive innovations called catalytic innovations is introduced and described as “providing good-enough solutions to inadequately addressed social problems.” An example would be the MinuteClinic which provides affordable walk-in health services for common health problems. The idea of the MinuteClinic lead to the creation of other walk-in clinics that serve people who cannot afford health care.
As business students we usually focus on the profits to be earned from a new idea or technology, but I think it’s interesting to look at the social changes we can achieve. What other examples can you think of where disruptive innovation was used for social causes? How do you think disruptive innovation can be used for social change in the future?
Collaboration and Disruptive Innovation
In this article by Vikram Jandhyala and Will Ludlam of the Seattle Times, the role of collaboration in disruptive innovation is investigated. The authors argue that without collaboration, people become frightened by how quickly things are changing–largely due to the fact that they are not included in the development of new innovations. Jandhyala and Ludlam argue that, using Washington State as an example, universities, businesses, media outlets, government agencies, etc. should work together to draw talent into the region and promote collaborative innovation. The authors argue that through collaboration, “disruption” will become “evolution,” in which all interested parties have a say in how to move forward and will be less caught up in the fast pace of change.
Do you think that by “forcing” disruptive innovation the value will be diminished? For example, instead of allowing disruptive innovation to “come about” naturally and without the use of a think tank or incubator, are the innovations are more meaningful? What challenges do you see in drawing talent to a particular region, business or university?
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