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Home / Tech  / Idealog year in review: TRA’s Antony Ede

Idealog year in review: TRA’s Antony Ede

What was the most interesting New Zealand company that caught your eye?

McCarthyfinch is about to use AI to disrupt the law profession from little old New Zealand.

What about internationally?

Google’s Duplex.

What was the most interesting launch/trend/idea/building/product of the year?

Shared transport options and electric transport in particular, such as Lime e-scooters.

Most exciting project you worked on this year?

I was involved in launching a software as a service tool called Paydar, which brings AI and data to retail and hospitality clients.

What public event that impacted on or affected you the most?

The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal combined with GDPR significantly changed clients’ risk tolerance around working with data.

What was your favourite book/TVshow/podcast/album/website/magazine/story/performance enhancing of 2018?

The book Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman.

Heroes?

Peter Beck.

Villains?

Bertie, Mark Zuckerberg.

Your own personal highlight?

Launching Paydar.

Biggest learning for you?

That start-up life is full of ups and downs.

Going into 2019, what’s the change you want to see in the world?

Our governments and institutions need to have a major change in the pace of action around climate change.

What should be invented and/or un-invented in the next year?

A cost effective and sustainable way of extracting carbon from the atmosphere.

Is it the robots we should be worried about, or the humans?

History would tell us it’s the humans…

How long before we have:  

DNA modification?

With technology like CRISPR already available I think this is a question of regulation and ethics more than technology. I think we will start to see more regulation in this area that will slow things significantly. At least 50 years away.

Driverless cars?

Significant adoption in five years, mass market within 10.

Immortality?

The first person who will live forever is already born.

Cities that all look like Venice?

I think we will invent our way out of this one so I don’t think this will ever happen.

No animals farmed or eaten?

I think we are about to see a sea change on this issue and we will see huge change within the next 10 years. I think it will take another 100 years or maybe 500 years until we totally eliminate animal farming.

Medical cannabis sold at the chemist?

Two years.

Non-human, AI lovers?

I assuming this is already happening.

Chips implanted in our brains?

Five years.

Colonies on Mars?

100 years.

Secure bunkers to protect us from the zombie apocalypse?

Ummm… never.

One of the talented Idealog Team Content Producers made this post happen.

Review overview