FutureScope and us

FutureScope very kindly invited Getting There to come along and see all the exciting new developments and listen as enthusiastic entrepreneurs pitched for funding and investors frantically sought out the next 'big thing'.

Getting There had sent in an application to see if we could be considered for getting a table or allowed to pitch. On the grounds that the Ageing population is growing, nearly 15% in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and nearly 13% in the rest of the country and maybe in the interest of diversity ,older people could be included.? No! However, the day was packed full of exciting and excited entrepreneurs pushing their latest ideas and many of these are directly relevant to older people.

Coming down the tracks are safer, more efficient, less invasive ways to operate on our eyes, ears and hips. The hips are pretty amazing because, computers will photograph your limbs and come up with a tailor made limb designed for your body, printed out in 3D and made of material that will not be rejected by your body and will not wear out.

The strong theme coming through was given by Michael Culligan, CEO, Dublin BiC who stressed that the pace of change and disruption is creating as many opportunities as casualties..New jobs have been created that people had not even considered, just 10 years ago.

What caught my attention was the phrase: Artificial Intelligence does not necessarily mean Artificial Wisdom. It would appear that the ethics are still playing catch-up.. However, Dublin is determined not to be left behind and all the colleges are encouraging their students to break ahead. 5G will spur new technologies, new jobs, new ways of living..

But it is heartening to hear that old fashioned words like integrity, wisdom and ethics are not entirely missing.

Andy O'Connor heads up a company focusing on elite athletes and how to keep them from getting injured and still able for the rough and tumble of professional sport. I would think that this research could also be applied to older people, keeping us in our homes , living independent lives, aided by Poggi, the compiuter.

Walking for 15 minutes a day has far reaching health benefits. Not only does our brain keep producing new cells, but our bodies regenerate. However, new research on how we walk is showing that our sedentary life style has made us lazy on how we move. We must keep our bodies aligned and straight. When we move with an aligned body, it activates the whole physical, emotional and spiritual parts of our bodies so that they synchronise and the body hastens to repair itself.

Maybe next year. Getting There will be able to demonstrate the importance of not only having a purpose in life but also to show the benefits of being appreciated and encouraging people to enjoy work. There has been a tendency among the Tech firms, not to share their huge earnings with their workers, to treat their workers as though they still live in kindergarten where eating pizza and jellybabies and whooshing down a slide are sufficient for happiness. Many of the future firms are not so great in providing Health Care, Pensions and other benefits. Instead, they prefer to keep employing younger, cheaper workers on the grounds that they are more innovative. .

The Health implications of these new technologies also need to be safely monitored.