Looking Forward

It is somewhat ironic to go back in time to look forward, but the words Vivek Wadha spoke last year at Nexus 2014 remain just as poignant now. The author, tech critic, and president of innovation and research at Singularity University, urged tech companies working in Latin America to stop living in the past — or even the present — and start chasing the future. He said we must move beyond complacent information technology — the “same braindead code maintenance we’ve done from the beginning of time” — and instead, “think bigger…you could be automating entire cities.” Through relatively cheap innovations like sensor-based traffic monitoring, 3D printing, and drone-based delivery networks, Vivek says Latin America can transform itself. The barrier isn’t physical. It’s about opening your mind and dreaming big. “What we need is designers.”