How far will automation go in replacing human workers? Which jobs are safe and which are not? How long before the revolution unfolds? Will this create more inequalities?

« Gartner has predicted a third of all jobs will be lost to automation within a decade. And within two decades, economists at Oxford University forecast nearly half of the current jobs will be performed with machine technology. Rather than killing jobs indiscriminately, research found automation commandeering such middle-class work as clerk and bookkeeper, while creating jobs at the high- and low-end of the market. »

The contract in question assumed there would be no acceleration in the circulation of information, which is precisely what the world has been busy doing for the past three decades. Talk about failure to adapt. If you are currently lobbying at work for the creation of that much needed foresight department, here is a good case in point.

A computer system monitoring your vital signs, precise location and current speed, all tied to a video system recording your every move. Subjective human assessment giving way to objective machine quantification. This is exactly what is happening to American football players, and some athletes object.

The MIT Technology Review’s annual list of key technologies, looking ahead to the next 1-3 years. Augmented reality, nano-architecture, car-to-car communication, Google balloons for internet access, fast DNA-sequencing, mega-scale desalination, Apple Pay, supercharged photosynthesis, internet of DNA.

The Trip Energy function uses data from your map system to anticipate on energy needs based on factors such as road elevation and projected speed. It can accurately tell you whether you will make it to your destination on the current charge. A good case of user-centered innovation, directly addressing electric vehicle owners’ number one fear.

Say hello to the connected suitcase, which tells you if it made it onto your flight. It also comes with a fingerprint reader, auto weighing, embedded speakers and in-luggage light.

Top 2: Data Engineer and Data Scientist. Further proof that data is at the center of all preoccupations in the tech industry. In 2013, Data Warehouse Engineer was the only data-related job in the top ten, and it was in ninth position.

Great use of available technologies combining mobile, geolocation and crowdsourcing: an app for citizens to signal social services about homeless people in need of attention. The route of caretakers is adapted in real time based on reports. And all this probably didn’t take more than a couple of days to develop.

I’m not a fan of these broad generalisations, but the article sheds some light on how a large part of the population needs to understand the expectations and habits of our youngest generation. Not surprisingly, there are massive cultural differences, but if “there is one thing we know about Millennials globally, it is that they want to be seen as individuals”.

The Wankband contains a small weight which moves back and forth with your arm, turning your, um, kinetic energy into electrical energy.

When I see all the voice interfaces popping up, I think that they are really solutions looking for a problem. Keyboards and trackpads are very efficient ways of communicating with machines (at least for those of us who use the Roman alphabet: about 70% of the world population). Text has many advantages, and is in many ways a superior medium:

“Text is the most socially useful communication technology. It works well in 1:1, 1:N, and M:N modes. It can be indexed and searched efficiently, even by hand. It can be translated. It can be produced and consumed at variable speeds. It is asynchronous. It can be compared, diffed, clustered, corrected, summarized and filtered algorithmically. It permits multiparty editing. It permits branching conversations, lurking, annotation, quoting, reviewing, summarizing, structured responses, exegesis, even fan fic. The breadth, scale and depth of ways people use text is unmatched by anything.”

Europe is home to another $1b startup: Farfetch, curating and selling luxury goods from fashion-forward independent boutiques around the world. Started by a Portuguese entrepreneur, it is joining a long line of European companies (VentePrivée, Net-à-porter) reinventing the art of selling fashion in the 21st century.

Apparently it’s still a good idea to file patents when launching a startup in CH. Average funding for non-patenting start-ups is CHF 374'000, while patenting start-ups receive an average of CHF 954'000. Surprising.

Harness data to “Engage and develop your team, never forget an important event, remember the little things, and always say the right thing”. The system not only dispenses management advice, but also remind you of employees’ birthdays and work anniversaries, and keeps spouse and kids’ names handy. It’s time to shine at the coffee machine.

I’m pretty sure we can do better than Slack.com when it comes to text-based communication for teams. Here is another iteration of the concept which seems particularly interesting, with the possibility to ping colleagues, assign tasks and link to documents straight from a chat message.

Pocket Points is a mobile application that rewards students for not using their phone in class. Open the application, lock your phone, and the points start rolling in. Points can then be used for discounts at local businesses.

Create legally valid contracts with a few taps on a phone. Other parties can sign directly online. Perfect for generating NDAs and having them signed before meetings.

In the morning, the Lark app asks “How are you feeling today? I saw you slept two hours less than last night”. A conversation ensues, and you receive advice based on your feedback, which the app couples with access to your health data. The demo looks fantastic, on my to-test list for the coming weeks.

Already bringing in $60M of revenues a few months after launch.

Sailogy.com is a website to rent sailboats, yachts, catamarans or motorboats. The platform is a one-stop shop for organizing a sailing holiday, with insurance and a skipper included. (Disclosure: one of our investments at MKS AI)

The founders of Whizz identified Uber’s lack of background check as an issue generating poor service. So Whizz cleaners have to go through a seven step validation process before they can start work. The result: happy customers referring their network to the service, and very nice organic growth.

Open Listings is a Y Combinator startup easing the home buying process by letting people move forward without involving (and paying) agents.

‘Dead Drops’ is an anonymous, offline, peer to peer file-sharing network in public space. USB flash drives are embedded into walls, buildings and curbs, and everyone is invited to share or find files. Each drive is installed empty except for a readme.txt file explaining the project. ‘Dead Drops’ is open to participation; just follow the ‘how to’ instructions if you want to install a dead drop in your city/neighborhood.