Batten Institute

Digital technologies have evolved from efficient, convenient tools to be the driving force behind a paradigm shift in competition. Strategy expert Mike Lenox discusses five changes in the landscape business leaders are wise to keep in mind.

Much capital has been lost by chasing false paradigm changes and earnings missed by dismissing real paradigm changes. How can we best identify when the hype is turning to mania or when it underestimates the long-term impact of new technology? We start by asking the right questions.

What exactly is the metaverse? What are the challenges in building an interactive virtual world? Which technologies will get us there? How will players — particularly younger ones — be protected while engaging with others?

The effects of climate change are everywhere, yet a coordinated and cohesive response to the biggest threat to life on Earth is nowhere to be seen. While the scale of the crisis leads many to paralysis, experts at this year’s Jefferson Innovation Summit worked to find solutions both dramatic and pragmatic, naming five key opportunities.

For many patients battling disease, working with their doctors to find the most effective treatment can be a painful exercise of trial and error. What if you could more precisely choose medications and customize treatment based on people’s genes, environment, and lifestyle?

Machine learning promises to increase the pace and volume of content released by artists and makes music and composition more accessible to budding new artists. On one hand it helps to feed the seemingly insatiable desire for new content on streaming platforms but on the other, it threatens originality.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet — "just setting up my twttr" — sold for more than $2.9 million. Bored Ape Yacht Club digital art pieces fetch just over $100,000. NBA Top Shot sells digital NBA moments for millions of dollars. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are making this possible. But is it more hype than reality?

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) provide an online education platform reaching a global audience of millions of learners. Concerns around the rising costs of higher education are increasing the pressure on schools to consider digital offerings. Disruption is underway, but what are the opportunities and risks it poses?

The sheer number of crypto options available today suggests significant market disruption is underway. Yet where there is hype, there is also volatility. Is it merely the newness of crypto that is causing this volatility, or does the concern go deeper? What are the benefits and concerns of shifting the economy toward digital currencies?

Electric vehicles are on track to become the dominant technology over the next 10–20 years. But do we truly understand all the implications of this shift? Are we ready for it?