Shape of Tomorrow

Welcome to Season Five of Shape of Tomorrow!

Four years and 209 episodes later, my curiosity about technology, innovation, and the future is stronger than ever. In today's episode, I reflect on some of the fascinating patterns that emerged over the past year, from AI moving beyond answers to taking action, to the growing importance of human judgment and organizational adaptability. I also explore two remarkable scientific developments from this week: Google's work on AI-generated interactive worlds and new materials science discoveries that reveal how AI can help us recognize possibilities hidden in knowledge we already possess. It's an exciting way to begin a new season, and I share a few thoughts on where I'd like to take our conversations next.

Most importantly, I want to thank everyone who has joined me on this journey. Here's to another season of curiosity, discovery, and shaping tomorrow!

This week on Shape of Tomorrow, we close Season 4 with a few reflections on innovation, intelligence, and the technologies shaping what comes next.

I begin with some thoughts from the CAIS Heads and Chairs Conference in Toronto, where I had the privilege of speaking about Strategic Surface Area, and reflect on Professor Ajay Agrawal's fascinating keynote on the economics of artificial intelligence.

Then we explore NVIDIA's emerging vision for AI-powered laptops and what it could mean for the future of personal computing. We also look at new quantum computing research from Google and why some of the most important technological advances happen quietly, long before they become part of everyday life.

Three different stories, connected by a common theme: meaningful innovation often begins by challenging assumptions and removing the barriers to what's possible.

Join me for Episode 208 as we bring four years and four seasons of conversations to a close, and prepare for the next chapter of Shape of Tomorrow.

Some of the most consequential changes shaping our future are happening in places we rarely think to look. This week on Shape of Tomorrow, I explore two fascinating developments that challenge conventional assumptions about innovation, technology, and what's possible. Both remind us that the next great breakthrough might not come from inventing something new, but from reimagining something we've known for generations.

I'm also looking ahead to speaking at the Canadian Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) Heads and Chairs Conference, where I'll be exploring leadership, institutional change, and the challenge of preparing organizations for futures we cannot yet fully imagine.

As we approach the conclusion of Season 4, this episode is a reminder that the future rarely announces itself. The question is whether we're paying enough attention to recognize it when it begins to emerge.

Technology has always changed the world. But what happens when the pace of change begins to exceed our ability to understand what it actually means?

In this week's episode of Shape of Tomorrow, I step away from the usual technology headlines to explore a question that's been on my mind lately. Are we entering a period where our ability to innovate is moving faster than our ability to adapt?

From artificial intelligence and the future of work to education, organizational strategy and leadership, I reflect on what happens when the assumptions we've spent decades building our lives and institutions around begin to change.

It's a more personal and reflective conversation this week, one that I hope challenges how you think about the future and perhaps even how you're preparing for it.

Because the question may no longer be whether we can keep up with technological change, but whether we truly understand the world it's creating.

Thanks for listening!

The future of computing may be changing in ways that are easy to miss if we focus only on the latest product announcements. In this episode, I look at OpenAI’s new agentic direction and what it could mean for the future of apps, then turn to AMD’s acquisition of World Labs and why world models may become such an important part of AI’s next chapter.

I also share a special personal announcement that I’ve been looking forward to making for quite some time.

This is really an episode about signals, about noticing when something that looks incremental may actually be pointing to a much deeper shift. Listen in, and let me know what you think we may be underestimating.

What would your school look like if the diploma were no longer the product?

This week, I explore a question that I think leaders in independent education need to start asking. As AI tutors, micro-schools and new learning models emerge, the traditional bundle we call “school” is beginning to come apart. And that raises a much bigger question about what families will actually value in the future.

Then I shift gears to Meta’s new AI agent, Muse, and why I think it represents another important marker in the evolution from AI that generates, to AI that reasons, to AI that acts.

Two very different topics connected by one idea: what happens when something we assumed was fundamental turns out to simply be the way we used to do things?

Welcome to Episode 204 of Shape of Tomorrow.

In this episode, I explore two questions I’ve been thinking about a lot this week.

First, what should AI actually change inside an organization? I share a simple three-part framework I’ve been using in conversations with leaders to move the discussion beyond tools and use cases, and toward operating model, capability and transformation.

Then I turn to something happening at the frontier of AI development: the growing role AI is playing in helping researchers build the next generation of AI itself.

That second idea may prove especially important, because the real story may not just be how capable AI becomes, but how quickly it starts accelerating its own progress.

Two different conversations, one common theme: the future may arrive through changes in capability and speed long before we fully recognize what has shifted.

This week on Shape of Tomorrow, I’m looking at two very different questions.

First, Apple has finally entered the foldable phone market. But I’m less interested in the fact that Apple made a folding iPhone than I am in the particular form factor it chose, and what that decision could mean for the entire category. There may be a bigger shift underway here than simply another new device.

Then, with the school year now underway, I turn to school leaders. September arrives with energy, ambition and usually far too many priorities. The real strategic challenge is deciding what deserves the attention of the senior leadership team, and then creating enough discipline to make sure those priorities actually move before the operational machinery takes over.

Two short conversations this week. One about where personal technology may be heading. The other about making strategy real inside a school.

I hope you’ll join me for Episode 202 of Shape of Tomorrow.

In this episode, I explore why what we call “resistance to change” may actually be confusion, anxiety, frustration or a lack of direction. I also look at the rise of AI devices in our homes and workplaces, and the important questions that emerge when AI becomes part of the spaces around us.

200 episodes.

What began in October 2022 as a small podcast about innovation and education has evolved into something much broader: an ongoing exploration of technology, AI, organizations, change and, increasingly, what all of it means for us.

For Episode 200, I’m taking a moment to look back at the journey, reflect on a few convictions that have emerged along the way, and think about the questions that might carry us toward Episode 300.

Most importantly, thank you. Whether you’ve listened to one episode or all 200, I’m grateful you’re here.

Stay curious, and here’s to the next 200.