In 2018 we witnessed a clash of titans as government and tech companies collided on privacy issues around collecting, culling and using personal data. From GDPR to Facebook scandals, many tech CEOs were defending big data, its use, and how they're safeguarding the public. Meanwhile, the public was amazed at technological advances like Boston Dynamic's Atlas robot doing parkour, while simultaneously being outraged at the thought of our data no longer being ours and Alexa listening in on all our conversations. For better or worse, advanced technologies like artificial intelligence has captured the public's, policymakers', and big business' imaginations. I see four AI use and ethics trends set to disrupt classrooms and conference rooms.

A photograph shows a lone automobile among dozens of horse-drawn buggies on Manhattan's famed Fifth Avenue in 1900. Thirteen years later, another photo depicts the same thoroughfare clogged with gas-guzzling vehicles. The images illustrate how quickly transportation innovations can take hold in society, a mobility-minded futurist recently told Southern Nevada leaders. His name is Paul Godsmark, and he's co-founder of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence. Godsmark's message: Autonomous vehicles could be the biggest thing to disrupt society since the Internet.