Geoffrey Kasselman

Exponential Future of CRE

“The only constant is change, and the rate of change is increasing.” – Peter Diamandis, founder of X-Prize, best-selling author and accomplished entrepreneur.

The speed of transformation related to technology is astonishing. Computers today are 138,000 times more powerful than they were in 1988, and nearly everyone is walking around with quantum computer power in their pocket. Between 2020 and 2030, we’ll be on the verge of having computer power that exceeds the human brain.

This astounding look into the future presented by Geoffrey Kasselman, SIOR, Executive Managing Director and National Industrial Practice Leader, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank at I.CON: Trends and Forecasts, in Jersey City, New Jersey, captivated the imagination of the audience.

“The future is arriving ahead of schedule.” – Robert James Hamilton, author.

Transformative disruption in the next three to five years includes some familiar hot topics: big data, drones flying over our main thoroughfares, virtual reality, robotics that could replace 80 million U.S. jobs in the next 10 years (out of 143 million non-farm jobs).

3D printing is soon to be 4D – an emerging technology will allow us to print objects that then reshape themselves or self-assemble over time. 3D-printed food is coming: A candy store in Berlin is already printing fruit gummy candies.

“We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.” – John Culkin, based on Marshall McLuhan’s ideas.

In the next five to 15 years, transformative disruption will gain even more strength. It will take us places we can’t conceive: Artificial intelligence, blockchain, CRISPR gene therapy, and self-driving (autonomous) vehicles that change real estate and infrastructure.

“By the time we get to the 2040s, we’ll be able to multiply human intelligence a billion-fold. That will be a profound change that’s singular in nature. Computers are going to keep getting smaller and smaller. Ultimately they will go inside our bodies and brains and make us healthier, make us smarter.” – Ray Kurzweil, author.

What can we expect when convergence takes place? Anything, anytime, anywhere. EAAS: Everything as a Service. Wake up and print your outfit daily. Sit down to a hearty 3D printed breakfast. Simulated reality will be so precise that it will be indistinguishable from actual reality.

But what is the magnifier effect? What are the unexpected consequences? Profound implications like geopolitical shifts, socioeconomic shifts, extended life expectancy, how and where we live and go – all things that are unanswerable and practically unimaginable, but on their way and overwhelmingly changing our lives.

Download the presentation and explore how rapidly changing technologies transform our industry, behaviors and experiences.


JLL logoThis post is brought to you by JLL, the Social Media and Conference Blog sponsor of NAIOP’s I.CON ’16: Trends and Forecasts. Learn more about JLL at www.us.jll.com or www.jll.ca.

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