Alexandra Whittington coauthored three chapters in The Future of Business: “The Future of the Internet”, “Mobile 2030: Scenarios for the Role of Mobile Technology in Society”, and “The Decentralization of Everything? Exploring the Business of the Blockchain”. In addition to her prolific writing, she’s also managed to record all of these chapters for The Future of Business Podcast (found on Stitcher Radio, and YouTube, and in iTunes under The Future of Business Podcast).

In this short interview, Alex tells us a little about herself, her chapters, and how she would change the world if she could.

What is the focus of your chapter in The Future of Business?

I coauthored three chapters about new and evolving technologies that are now reshaping society:  the Internet, Blockchain and Mobile. The internet chapter looks at the way the internet has already changed society, as the Pew Foundation said, becoming more and more “like electricity” to the extent that it’s everywhere and gradually being taken for granted. We discuss how as the IOT expands this will be even more important to our day-to-day lives as everyday things become smart and connected.  The Blockchain chapter is more informational, geared toward educating the audience about this new game-changing technology, and who the players are/where their stakes are being placed. Finally, the Mobile chapter explores the human relationship with mobile devices as being somewhere on the continuum of “Frenemy” or a “Better Half” into the next fifteen years.

Tell us a little about yourself and what you do?

I’m a futurist! I work at the University of Houston as an undergraduate adjunct instructor and I also do foresight research for Fast Future.

What future-oriented topics or issues are you focusing on currently?

I work on a lot of topics… Most recently my projects have been on the future of higher education, transportation and cities.

If you could bring about one change in the world to ensure a positive future – what would it be?

If I could bring about one change it would be to transform our world so that empathy and compassion were considered more important than profits or power. We should shift away from “competing” in the global economy to “cooperating”. As long as we have the competitive mindset, pressing matters of economic inequality, climate change, education and equal rights are impossible to solve. We can end social suffering if we chose to prioritize cooperation over competition.