The Next Idea If someone asked you to give up your smartphone, your tablet, your laptop, It’s likely you’d have a hard time agreeing to let go. But as much as we revel in technology and all its bells and whistles, there is a growing awareness that the technology is controlling us. The tail is wagging the dog. That thinking has led a couple of Michiganders to come up with something that strips all this technology down to its purest form. No bells, no whistles, no distractions.

The Next Idea If you listen to the World Economic Forum, we are now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The WEF calls this “a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.” Just as mass production launched an era of large-scale centralized organizations at the turn of the 20th century, the Internet and smartphones in the 21st century are ushering in new forms of collaboration — and conflict. Technologies are replacing the fundamental

The Next Idea Start talking about Willow Run and chances are pretty good that images of Rosie The Riveters building B-24 bombers in World War II come to mind. But there are big plans being cooked up to transform the old factory grounds near Ypsilanti into a highly advanced proving ground for autonomous and connected vehicles. Pete Bigelow spells it all out in his story for Car and Driver .

The Next Idea I spend a lot of time looking for the future. I never really find it. Humans are too unpredictable. Innovations are like teenagers. They’re never really sure what they want be when they grow up, if they grow up at all. You can only hope they find their rightful place in the world somewhere along the way. On the rare occasion that I get a real glimpse of what will happen next, it’s because I took the time to get beyond the “cool factor” of innovation to see the emerging science that

The Next Idea Driverless cars are on the horizon. That much is clear. We’ve heard from businesses, engineers and politicians about how autonomous vehicles could change day-to-day life for all of us. How might driverless cars affect the lives of people with disabilities?

The Next Idea The Skillman Foundation has awarded $50,000 each to six different programs in connection with the My Brother’s Keeper Detroit Innovation Challenge . One of the six is Giving Them the Business. The goal is to teach young men of color to be owners and operators of restaurants, not just hired help, according to a release from the foundation. Jerrell Harris coordinates Giving Them the Business. He joined us today.

The Next Idea Recently, a bright young colleague of mine alerted me to a meeting of the minds at a top technology institution. The event was to be a discussion of breakthrough research and innovative ideas that are flying under the radar. So I joined the online conference just in time to hear a web feed of CIA computer analyst turned whistleblower Edward Snowden giving a rather unremarkable account of the authoritarian state of things here in the land of the free. It wasn’t that what he said

The Next Idea China is Michigan’s third largest export market. A new nonprofit is up and running, planning to encourage more Chinese investment here. Brian Connors is the executive director of the Michigan-China Innovation Center. Connors sat down with us today to talk about how he plans to attract the attention of Chinese investors and why China is such a valuable business partner for Michigan.

The Next Idea I grew up in a suburb of Detroit and went to school where most of the kids looked like me. During the Jewish holidays, teachers didn't assign work because so many of us were absent. There might have been five or six African-American kids in my high school, and no one wore a hijab in public. I’ve always been curious about the way other people live. My journey as a journalist and author and writing professor has taken me to find common ground in people different from me. I visited a

The Next Idea If ever there is a time you want your physicians to be on top of their game, it's when he or she is determining your diagnosis. Yet, doctors who are overworked and stressed do make mistakes. And the results can be fatal. One famous case: actor John Ritter was diagnosed and treated for a heart attack. Turns out he actually had a tear in his aorta, which killed him. Dr. Vineet Chopra is with the Patient Safety Enhancement Program, and he's researching ways to change the way