I’m not going to pretend that I understand Mining and Metals or I have the answer to current and future problems of this very complex industry but I know me and my generation- your future employees, leaders, politicians, consumers and for some reason because of the power of human ingenuity we are blessed to grow up in the information age and whether you accept it or not, we are different. We know, think and live different- not in a good or bad way but just…different. And the sooner the current industry leaders accept it, the better off all of us will be. We may not have the knowledge and experience but what we do have is our imagination and our passion and thirst for things that work.
If we look at the up and coming technologies that covers such great expectations to a point that it is nearing controversy, we see that it’s not only the Internet of Things but rather how it will interact with other different technologies and processes such as Big Data, In Memory Computing, Gamification and Crowdsourcing.
Maybe the future challenges of mining is not just the digging up of minerals and metals but rather how the entire mining ecosystem will adapt to the future conditions, commerce and consumers (us).
What if one day the image of the greasy miner with a yellow hardhat on a jumper will be thing of the past? As automation and industry specialized drones and other machines grow more efficient, less of manual labor will be required.
Are humans still going to be part of the supply chain other than just being consumers? Absolutely! But what if through Gamification regular people such as myself or even kids would want to be part of the mining ecosystem not because we have to do it to get a job or forced to consume it but because the system actually is enriching and exciting and responsible all at the same time?
What if through crowdsourcing you are able to mobilize hundreds or even thousands of independent, passionate miners all around the world to solve future problems? And we know for a fact that this is already the way to do it because what we have learned over this short period of abundance in information is that we love giving information. We gravitate to solving problems, just like the millions of “How to” videos on Youtube- we like helping out not because this makes millionaires out us but because we just are.
And because of the insane amount of data that will be generated by all of these SAP Hana will have to take a bigger role, much more that we already have.
The Internet of Things should be redefined. It’s not just about sensors and tracking and monitoring but also how it will connect to processes- to other systems- to our lives- HUMAN LIVES.
I also want to visit Germany so PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!!!
