The future is future fitness. The advantage isn’t prediction. It’s how fast your team can notice change and respond. Pick one mindcandy prompt below. Discuss it. Decide your moves.
Do you want you a repeatable operating rhythm to sense signals early, decide priorities faster, and act with real strategic options? See how this works here.
Today’s prompt: Elon Musk shares 4 bold predictions for the future of work
When Elon speaks, you should listen. He’s pitching a near-future where:
- Robot surgeons outperform humans
- Lifespans extend meaningfully
- Retirement savings becomes unnecessary
- AI becomes smarter than the entire human race
Assume he’s wrong on timing (he often is). Don’t ignore the direction. The real business signal isn’t “robot surgeons.” It’s this: high-trust, high-liability expert work is being targeted next. When capability becomes cheap, your advantage shifts to what can’t be commoditised: trust, accountability, data access, regulatory positioning, insurance risk, distribution, and brand.
The business owner question
Is Elon right? What if he is?
The other prompts
My latest book about books about AI: You are the upgrade
Data, acceleration, and the future of intelligence: Lessons from 25 core books (and links to 114 other books) about AI, technology abstraction, and consciousness.
https://www.ronimmink.com/product/a-book-about-books-about-ai/
Where Is the Future?
How our hands reveal the ways we think about time. Read “Metaskills”.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-and-cognition/202601/where-is-the-future
Scientists test a tiny eye implant that could restore sight
Scientists at USC are launching a new trial to test a tiny stem cell implant that could restore vision in people with advanced dry macular degeneration. The hair-thin patch replaces damaged retinal cells responsible for sharp, central vision.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260108231348.htm
Beyond the AI hype: Building real‑world intelligence loops
As we look ahead to 2026, the next competitive edge will come from creating continuous feedback loops that link every step of the customer journey: from product data to store operations to mobile engagement.
https://nrf.com/blog/beyond-the-ai-hype-building-realworld-intelligence-loops
Why some “breakthrough” technologies don’t work out
Some technologies may not have been successful on their own but are the basis of other breakthrough technologies (natural-language processing, 2001). Others may not have reached their potential as expected but could still have enormous impact in the future (brain-machine interfaces, 2001). Or they may need more investment, which is difficult to attract when they are not flashy (malaria vaccine, 2022).
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/01/12/1130726/opinion-breakthrough-technology-failures-flops/
Bricklayers To Bots: A New Era For Construction
Japan, facing a severe shortage of young labor, has made construction robotics a national priority. It is showing that even highly complex projects can be automated when necessity pushes innovation.
https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2026/01/12/bricklayers-to-bots-a-new-era-for-construction/
Microscopic Robots That Swim Think and Act on Their Own
Researchers have developed the smallest fully programmable autonomous robots ever made. These tiny machines can swim through liquid, sense and respond to their surroundings on their own, operate continuously for months, and cost roughly one penny apiece.
https://scitechdaily.com/microscopic-robots-that-swim-think-and-act-on-their-own/
Behold This Massive Airborne Wind Turbine Hovering Over China
Wind turbines that float to harness high-altitude winds are being used in China.
https://futurism.com/science-energy/china-airborne-wind-turbine?
AI goes physical: navigating the convergence of AI and robotics
Physical Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming traditional robotics into adaptive, learning machines capable of operating in complex and unpredictable environments, driving significant advancements in safety, precision, and efficiency across multiple industries.
16 Leading Curators Predict the Art Trends of 2026
Slow flow, hand made, craft-based, collaboration and technology. More often, these technological advancements are positioned alongside, rather than in opposition to, physical materials and personal experience.
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-16-leading-curators-predict-art-trends-2026
US inmates use VR headsets to rehearse job interviews and ‘travel the world’
Prisoners in the Golden State have used virtual reality (VR) headsets to travel the world, practice job interviews, and rehearse everyday life skills, all without leaving the facility, in order to prepare for life beyond bars.
https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/inmates-use-oculus-vr-headsets-by-meta
