Are we really ready for the future?

A leading futurist is urging Kiwi companies to prepare for a tech-transformed future where machines have replaced many of today's jobs. This might mean a robot tractor repairing a fence line, a robotic plumber fixing a toilet, artificial intelligence scanning and approving a contract, a holographic projector can let you visit any place in the world - or even a drone delivering a coffee made by an automatic barista. The call comes as a new report, launched today to mark the start of Techweek NZ, has revealed nearly half of all surveyed small and medium businesses in New Zealand expect to see "significant" disruption from technology within the next decade. Yet the findings of the MYOB Future of Business Report: The Age of Change showed two thirds were adopting a "wait-and-see approach" to change. The company's chief technical advisor Simon Raik-Allen said although businesses were expecting tech-driven change to come quickly, it was less clear how well prepared they'll be for it.