EDITOR'S DESK
Future imperfect
The biggest challenge with predicting the future? People are terrible at it. Nobel Prize–winning physicist Niels Bohr gets credit for nailing the problem: “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future.” We make things worse by telling ourselves that what's coming—climate change, for example—is some far-off event. As B.C. science fiction legend William Gibson said, “The future is already here—it's just not very evenly distributed.”
“The Future of Work” (p.27) looks at how technological, demographic, hiring and other trends are transforming the way we do our jobs right now. In this seven-part package, Ryan Stuart tackles the thorny question of how automation will affect B.C.'S workforce. There's a case to be made that almost no one will escape its impact. But as companies throughout the
province have shown, artificial intelligence and big data can make workers more productive. That could be an economic advantage if business and government invest in giving people the tools and the skills they need not just tomorrow but today.
Another change that might happen sooner than you think: fewer cars in cities. In the not-so-distant future, British Columbians who commute to work may find themselves catching a high-speed train, hailing a ride-share—or walking from a building on what was once a road.
“The Future of Work” also features a survey by regular Bcbusiness contributor Mustel Group. As always, thank you to Evi Mustel and her team for their thoughtful research.
Work is one thing, but what does the future hold for professional basketball in B.C.? On page 20, associate editor Nathan Caddell sizes up the Fraser Valley Bandits of the new Canadian Elite Basketball League, whose debut season tips off this month at the Abbotsford Centre. “Power Ball” weighs the Bandits' chances of thriving against previous efforts to find pro teams a home in the Valley. It does look like the Lower Mainland has a bigger appetite for basketball than in the 1990s, when NBA franchise the Vancouver Grizzlies failed to court enough fans.
Hopefully the Bandits will entertain spectators for decades, like our Top 100 event. That annual gathering in downtown Vancouver, which has featured some of B.C.'S biggest business success stories as guest speakers (see p.19), marks its 30th anniversary on June 20. If you haven't bought your ticket, please join us for a conversation with Dragons' Den judge and Boston Pizza International owner Jim Treliving. I look forward to seeing you there.