Fast forward to an AI future 

Turning on the lights and restocking the fridge will soon be a thing of the past at home, and artificial intelligence will manage our workplaces within a matter of decades, says digital futurist Chris Riddell.

Riddell (pictured), who will be headlining Green Cities 2017 in Sydney next March, says “the biggest thing impacting our world right now is that everything in our lives is connected”.

This is called the ‘internet of things’ and we’ve been hearing about it for a couple of years now.

But Riddell says it’s just “starting to become liquid” – with everything from our lightbulbs to our washing machines connecting transparently through devices in our pockets.

And it’s this interconnection that will provide human beings with a more intelligent and efficient future.

“Within the next decade, your car will know when you are driving home from work, and will tell your house to get ready. The lights will come on, the self-cleaning system will start and the fridge will check its contents and automatically re-order your groceries,” Riddell says.

If that sounds like science fiction, Riddell says we are “rapidly moving into the era of artificial intelligence – where technology makes decisions for us”.

Fast forward another decade, and Riddell says robot receptionists will manage workflows with a speed and efficiency impossible for human beings.

“Imagine rocking up to your workplace, going to reception and standing in front of a screen. You’ll say ‘Hey Siri, what am I going to do today?’ The artificial intelligence system will be able to automatically identify your skills and allocate you to a specific task or project accordingly.

“The business environment will be so fluid it will change day by day, based on the projects and priorities within the organisation at that moment in time.”

Riddell says this will create demand for people who are “multi-skilled and multi resourcing” – and it will also transform the way we will look at buildings.

“People won’t be going to the same work desk each day – they’ll be moving between floors, buildings and even parts of the city.”

Riddell says organisations led by artificial intelligence are just a matter of time – but it won’t be the incumbents that make the first move.

“The companies embracing artificial intelligence will be the next wave of disruptors – the Ubers and Airbnbs,” he says.

And it’s that ‘Uber Effect’ that will enable us to maximise resources as much as possible.

“Instead of floors or departments lying empty while people are off site or sitting in airports, it means resources can be allocated based on demand – and hot desks are just the earliest evolution of what’s to come.”

This smarter allocation of resources will cover every aspect of our lives, Riddell says.

“And we are already seeing it in action. If you park your Tesla at the airport while you’re travelling, you can make it available to others who have a Tesla subscription. Regular travellers are already able to cover their car finance simply by having people use their car when they’re not.

“What Uber did to the taxi industry is just the beginning.”

One of Asia’s most sought-after trend spotters, Chris Riddell will be wowing the Green Cities audience with the digital technologies that are just over the horizon. Early bird tickets for Property Council and Green Building Council of Australia members are available now.