What technologies will reshape business, education, andeveryday life in 2026? In this episode of UWO Now, host Wendell Ray welcomes futurist and UWO alumnus Daniel Burrus for an exclusive update on the Hard Trends shaping the coming year. Burrus revisits his predictions for 2025 and reveals what came true, what accelerated faster than expected, and what new forces will transform organizations in 2026.

0:00 -     Cold Open
0:38 -     Significance of Hard and soft trends
01:56 -  Hard and soft trend examples
04:15 -  2025 trends predictions
07:45 -  What are disruptors?
11:27 -  Evolution of AI
12:50 - Agentic AI defined                                                                                                                                      14:47 - AI agents
15:31 - Don’t fear AI                                                                                                                                                     18:00 - How to keep up with technology                                                                                                      

20:10 -  AI apps to know for 2026                                                                                                                     

23:44 - What organizations need to know

UWO Now, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, tech trends, 2026 predictions, AI, future of work, futurist Daniel Burrus.

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