Idealists Unite: Highlights From ideacity 2017, Day Two

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IBM's Connie, the world's first Watson-enabled concierge robot in the hospitality industry. Photo: Mike Crisolago

From a tube transport revolution to a Moon Express, financial disruptors and the future of virtual reality, we’ve got a rundown of some of the most fascinating theories and statements from day two of ideacity 2017.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MOMENT OF THE DAY: Connie, pictured above, created by IBM and the world’s first Watson-enabled concierge robot in the hospitality industry, can carry on a conversation, sing “Happy Birthday” and is, evidently, one heck of a dancer.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There aren’t many ways to use virtual reality other than gaming and porn, but here are a few others …” – Keram Malicki-Sanchez, virtual reality entrepreneur, who went on to describe the applications of VR on everything from physical and mental health to tourism, real estate, education and more.

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY: At the same time that we’re proposing high speed tubes that could cut the travel time between Toronto and Montreal to less than 40 minutes, we’re also working on developing a “moon express” to open up lunar travel.

QUESTIONS WE STILL HAVE: Could we possibly combine the two ideas to make “moon tubes,” that basically suck you up like on The Jetsons and drop you on the lunar surface?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAY WHAT?:

* Rob Lloyd, CEO of Hyperloop Technologies, on his proposal to transport people ad products in steel tubes via 700 mph pods, which could take you from Toronto to Montreal in approximately 39 minutes:

“People could work where they wanted and wouldn’t be restricted by housing prices … Wouldn’t it be fun to have time to enjoy drinks on Crescent Street and be back in time to wake up and go to work tomorrow? That can happen. It just transforms the idea that geography is a separator between us.”

* “The future is not something to be predicted, it is something to be achieved.” – Don Tapscott, CEO and co-author of Blockchain Revolution

* “The first Internet was of information. Next Internet will be of value.” – Don Tapscott

* “Unless you want to put an expiry date on our species, we have to expand. It’s not a question of ‘if,’ but ‘when.'” – Bob Richards, space industry entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Moon Express

* “The moon as we look at it today is not a dead dry rock. It’s our eighth continent … All the precious resources we depend on here on Earth are there on the moon.” – Bob Richards

* “The game changer is … the discovery of water on the moon. It makes the moon a gas station in the sky. It’s not just important to life but H20 is the basis of rocket fuel.” – Bob Richards

* “The gateway for humanity and worlds we explore from Mars to beyond starts with the moon.” – Bob Richards

* “Like UberPool, the idea is that you share the ride [to the moon] and split the cost.” – Yonatan Winetraub, co-founder of SpaceIL, an Israeli organization working toward space research and landing spacecraft on the moon.

* “Cloning is widespread – more widespread than you understand.” – Diane Francis, columnist, author and investigative journalist.

* “I suspect that many of you are holding impactful investments in your portfolio without even realizing it … Impact is an unintended consequence of your investments. Imagine if we were more intentional in our investments.” – Tania Carnegie, author, speaker and impact investing consultant.

* “Fifty-three per cent of the population believe the [financial] system is failing, and simply don’t trust it … Seventy-one per cent of millennials would rather go to the dentist than go to a bank.” – Andy Krupski, co-founder of Impak Finance

* “In the communications world it was always about storytelling. Now it’s about story doing. Walk the walk or go home.” – Andy Krupski

* “The value of money comes from the trust that users put in it.” – Paul Allard, co-founder of Impak Finance

* “Money is the currency of transactions but TRUST is the currency of interactions.” – Rachel Botsman, as quoted by Andy Krupski and Paul Allard