Information fragments – whether sound bites on broadcast news or Twitter firestorms between news sources and media – now pass as news. The masses are headline-strong and knowledge-empty. And it is a trend line cemented by the perfect storm raking over media this fall.Add it up: With trust rates well below 10 percent in media polls, the Trump victory and...

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the German state of Bavaria wrote a constitution stating that all economic activity should serve the common good. This was a direct response to the fascism that triggered the war, the Great Depression that gave rise to fascism and the laissez-faire economic and financial system that brought on the Great Depression. But...

Once the high-tech bastion of American innovative spirit and entrepreneurism, we forecast Silicon Valley will lose its status as the global center of technological transformation, no longer attracting the top tier of tech talent or leading new discoveries. As with other cutting-edge leaders in commerce and industry that faded throughout history into obscurity as times and needs change, Silicon Valley...

Silicon Valley’s self-proclaimed dominance over the tech world took a thunderous hit on Election Night 2016. Its almost unanimous support of Hillary Clinton, and masterminding of the digital, high-tech backbone of her campaign, was ransacked by Donald Trump’s anti-immigration, anti-globalization and pro-working families messaging. Old fashioned-style rallies and Twitter barrages outmaneuvered the elite upperclassmen of Silicon Valley’s deep pockets and...

Investment in artificial intelligence, deep learning, robotics, virtual reality and chip technology is powering Rust Belt 2.0 to levels that will greatly and quickly surpass, both in investment and market gains, the dot-com boom. There is virtually no industry that won’t be significantly impacted or transformed by the expanding capability and affordability of robot and intelligent automation. Innovations will come...

From building cars to sorting mail, the workload of robots has dramatically expanded, taking on human tasks that make them part of the family and workforce. Today’s robots build our cars and sort our mail. Tomorrow’s automated devices already are beginning to prepare our meals, keep company with our elders and replace us in thousands of mundane — and not so mundane —...

From road to car to shopping mall to burger stand and back home, automation will drive our investments and future. Last December, the Trends Research Institute made this forecast: “In 2016, robots become mainstream. Moreover, they begin breeding, transforming many aspects of daily life.” We are fast approaching a world in which robots not only are self-aware, but can design and build new...

Are cellphones dirty? Are they a hazard to your health?The industry says no. Is cigarette smoking hazardous to your health? For decades, the tobacco industry hid the data and denied the deadly truth.Is eating pesticide-laden foods good for you? Or would you rather feed yourself and your children “clean” organic foods brought to market safely? Like “clean foods” before it,...

The evidence clearly is mounting: Your cellphone, abetted by your other digital devices, may slowly be ravaging your health. The latest evidence is a preliminary report, published in May, of findings from a study by the National Toxicology Program, an initiative of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The two-year study is the largest done with animals on...

In October, a Washington, D.C., appeals court dealt a setback to a longstanding, multi-party series of lawsuits against several cellphone producers, including Apple, Samsung, AT&T, Motorola and Verizon. The lawsuits allege cellphone use causes brain tumors and other health hazards to form. But the court ruled that evidence in the case must be represented for the lawsuits to advance.The cellphone...