Over the past three years it feels like we have been bombarded by regular news articles associated with industries under transition. Our mining sector is a more topical one in the Hunter Region but further afield, media stories have regularly been reported in relation to Australia’s overall manufacturing, agricultural, and professional and technical services sectors.

It is my contention that we have moved from the transition of industries and leapt ahead due to the accelerated application of exponential technologies. Whether we recognise it or not every aspect of our lifestyles is currently (or will be in the very near future) impacted upon by Industry Disruptors. To prove this point, I thought I would share a few examples of where and how Industry Disruptors will affect us all in our day to day lives.

When Uber first launched in Australia, most thought that those most concerned with this market entrant would be traditional taxi’s and hire car operators. What has now emerged was that this ‘initial’ launch was only the first stage in a two stage business plan. Stage 1 was focussed on proving the technology (or software) and incrementally capturing market share in population centres. Stage 2 is the introduction of autonomous vehicles.

Given this scenario what are the ramifications? Well for a start every automotive manufacturer in the world has now recognised the potential threat of a driverless ‘on call’ transport option. If you have confidence that you can access transport ‘on call’ why do you need a car with all of its associated costs? If the take up of such a service accelerates, what does this mean for infrastructure planning (roads, parking stations etc)?. What will become of car insurance business models due to a decrease in motor vehicle accidents and subsequent injuries/fatalities?

The Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize was launched in 2015. The contest challenges anyone to develop a wireless device capable of detecting a range of diseases. The technology employs sensors and imaging to measure vital signs and diagnose conditions noninvasively.

The 10 finalists come from a range of backgrounds, including universities, medical device manufacturers and tech start-ups. One research team is backed by NASA and the Bill Gates Foundation, while another is made up of engineering students at Johns Hopkins University in the US.

The finalists will be announced shortly and each have developed a handheld device that will analyse up to 50 biomarkers to diagnose a range of medical conditions and ailments.

Consider the ramifications of this disruptor on the access to and cost of world class medical diagnosis and the impact on preventative medicine.

A subject of regular discussion at HunterNet meetings! We have all seen the cost of 3D printers for either domestic or industrial use decrease dramatically. Further, 3D printing speeds have accelerated. 3D printers are here to stay and their applications are expanding to include construction of multi-story buildings, airplane components, automotive components, and even custom fitted clothing (eg. Shoes). It is estimated that by 2025, 15% of everything that is manufactured will be 3D printed.

In the 2015 calendar year, more renewable energy generation capacity was installed than coal fired capacity. Some forecasts predict a gradual decrease in energy prices as this pattern continues. But apart from the impact on our energy bills what does this mean?

Aside from upfront capital cost, the most expensive production input for desalination plants is energy. Imagine the impact of cheaper access to desalination for countries faced with significant arid or ‘unproductive’ land. With a growing global population traditionally non-productive land can be developed in to the next agricultural belts. From a humanitarian perspective, what impact can this disrupter make to countries that regularly experience drought and famine?

Not wanting to upset any of my lawyer or accountant friends, but they too will not be immune from their own industry disruptors. For example, IBM Watson already has the capability to provide basic legal advice. An associated AI program called ‘ROSS’ can look up an obscure court ruling from 13 years ago, and ROSS will not only search for the case in an instant, without contest or complaint, but it will offer opinions in plain language about the old ruling’s relevance to the case at hand. A CFO online article (9 May 2016) was titled “The Robots are Coming for Wall Street”. The article went on to say that 35% of all jobs in the UK are at risk of being automated over the next 20 years. Accountancy was one of the professions that featured in the top 10.

These are only a few of the many examples that are happening today. I have not even discussed education, law and order, and communications disrupters. It is a tide that cannot be held back but at the same time it is something that we should not be fearful of. Industry disrupters will force us all to constantly revisit our lifestyle choices at home and business plans in the workplace.

Industry disrupters will open new opportunities for those that are entrepreneurial enough to identify rapidly emerging market niches. Our quality of life will continue to improve and outcomes from R&D will be realised more rapidly.

Industries will continue to disrupted by technology and the challenge for us all is to be informed, educated, and agile enough to take full advantage of the opportunities that these disrupters will bring.