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Visualizing the future

Singapore will mark its 50th anniversary of independence in 2015. In conjunction with the country’s upcoming Golden Jubilee, Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his views in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on what Singapore’s economy and society would look like in 2065.

In the future, technology would have eliminated much of the manual labor that humans perform today. Robots will revolutionize work in the home, elder-care as well as the personal services industry.

Commercial space flight will accelerate the growth of globalization and enhance innovation, thanks to people being able to meet face-to-face with far less time spent in travel.

On the other hand, 3D printing coupled with big data analytics will revolutionize the traditional manufacturing model of economies of scale in favor of mass customization. In addition, stricter Green and ethics regulations will foster Greener, safer and fairer processes in the work place.

Perera also discussed the changing landscape for the research-based consulting industry. In his opinion, companies would continue to approach market research experts to conduct in-depth studies. While highly structured, traditional research may become commoditized, holistic and multi-disciplinary research will remain relevant in assessing unmet needs.


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