Hunter G's Profile

I also knew nothing about how the military was leveraging additive manufacturing before reading this article; thanks for illuminating these exciting developments in a powerful industry! I agree that, as the military and the FAA obtain increased familiarity with the performance of 3D-printed materials in different situations, they will likely reach a compromise to enable faster incorporation of AM parts in the manufacturing process.
I am curious if, how, and at what point the application of additive manufacturing on existing planes will impact the timeline and/or the process of developing new generations of aircraft. Will the military decide to hold back on the huge expenditures needed to produce a new line of jets if existing planes could be easily maintained with 3d-printed parts? Even if 3D printing allows for extending the life of an aircraft, should there be a limit to how long the military can do so, given the importance of having state-of-the-art/unfamiliar technology?

I really appreciate this analysis of Pinterest’s ability to provide value-add to retailers and consumers looking to make purchases (versus users that want Pinterest only for brainstorming or aesthetic purposes). In response to your second question, I don’t think a potential Pinterest price comparison tool presents too much of a marginal threat to retailers. The prevalence of the Internet already makes comparison shopping incredibly easy, regardless of whether a shopper is either online or in-store.
For segmentation, I am curious if Pinterest can tell whether certain demographics are already significantly more likely to make purchases through the site or not — the company may not even need to do much work to segment its customer base!

I think the answer to your question of privacy comes down to the intent and subsequent actions of the business. If AirBnB can demonstrate that personal information they gather is used to provide higher quality, more personalized services, then customers will likely accept it regardless. It is a different story, however, if improper usage of data leads AirBnB (or any company) to exploit or unfairly penalize individuals. I am very much intrigued by JC’s comment above; the concept of an informational escrow account is really interesting. This speaks to the greater trend we’re seeing of monetizing personal data to the point where it’s practically equivalent to currency. Here’s a (currently) extreme case of this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this became a more common business model: https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/07/data-dollar-store-london-ben-eine/.

As someone who owns many pairs of glasses, this article made me really excited. In regards to your question, I am curious if there is a shift worldwide toward contacts over framed glasses, or if this is a more localized trend. I was not able to find any definitive data on the subject, but would love to learn more. In fact, as screens become more and more integrated into everyday objects and behaviors, and AR and VR technologies become increasingly mainstream, I can easily see lots of potential for additive manufacturing in eye-wear. Sure, Google Glass ended up not being the game-changer some predicted, but headsets such as Oculus Rift and Microsoft’s HoloLens are gaining traction in applications for entertainment and numerous other industries. The intersection of fashion and technology is fascinating!

Echoing Melcolm here with love for this topic; I have an embarrassing number of LEGO sets safely tucked away in storage. I think the LEGO Ideas submission program is a great example of how to keep children and teens engaged with a youth-oriented brand and its products as they age. This gets at your question regarding the sustainability of the innovation pipeline. I think the answer is yes, because designers who stop interacting with the platform will be replaced by childhood users as they grow up! I am curious if LEGO ever leverages it as a way to identify potential hiring candidates.

It’s great to learn more about initiatives aiming to increase the level of public participation in improving their own environments. Some folks from New Urban Mechanics actually visited an urban planning class I took in undergrad; they’re super cool! I was really struck by your first question about the limitations and appropriateness of relying on open innovation to influence government. I think government and municipal institutions should be wary of falling prey to weaknesses in the self-selected nature of crowd sourcing platforms. Without safe guards, a small-but-passionate group could push for changes that negatively impact the majority. On the other end of the spectrum, crowd sourcing could reinforce a tyranny of the majority, further harming already marginalized communities who may be less able to contribute. It would be great to see more targeted application of open innovation forums to glean perspectives from specific groups.