What made it into my 8 story list of reading this week? Technology also gives me a kick. This week there were two particular things, FACE++, a Chinese startup that is using face recognition as a payment method. Facial recognition has existed for decades, but only now it is accurate enough to be used in secure financial transactions. you may read more about Paying with Face in the MIT Technology Review. The other one is science-fiction but not any more. The gadget is a pair of ear phones that can translate the spoken language as you hear it, well with a tiny bit delay. It is in prototype phase by Waverly Labs,promised to hit the shops next year. Both gadgets reminded me of a question on of my Foresight and Strategy students asked me" Why did we have some sci-fi references in the reading list? This week we have been talking about foresight and strategy and imagining futures with one of our corporate clients. What really strikes me is the difficulty we all have to imagine the speed of change. And as Face++ shows these breakthroughs are not waiting to happen in 5 or 10 years time. They are here now. Have a great week