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Meet ​Shawn DuBravac

Dr. Shawn DuBravac is author of the New York Times Best Seller Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live, and Communicate (Regnery, 2015), which explores how the world’s mass adoption of digital technologies portends the beginning of a new era for humanity in the realms of business, healthcare, finance, transportation and culture.

DuBravac is a well-regarded futurist and trendcaster who writes frequently on disruptive technological shifts. He advises companies and C-level executives on market opportunities and industry strategy. He is president and founder of Astra Insights which provides consulting, research and advisory services to CxOs on a myriad of topics including digital transformation strategies, business model disruptions, the pace of technological change and overcoming myopic thinking. For over a dozen years DuBravac served as chief economist for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer tech companies and owner and producer of CES.

DuBravac has been widely published on the topics of technology, finance and economics. His keen insights regarding the economic drivers of the global tech industry and future trends have made him a highly sought-after keynote speaker and commentator. DuBravac travels both internationally and domestically to meet with tech industry leaders and present on technology trends and the economy. In addition, his analysis has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, Wired, Los Angeles Times, Barron’s and on-air with CNBC, Bloomberg, CBS and other media outlets.

He was the primary driver of smartphone and cyber-security equity indexes, developed in partnership with NASDAQ, and the CTA consumer confidence index. In 2012, DuBravac was named to Dealerscope’s “40 under 40” list of people to watch in the consumer technology industry. He is a member of the National Association of Business Economists and currently serves as the president of the Conference of Business Economists.   

DuBravac has taught in George Washington University’s MBA program, George Mason University’s MBA program, at the University of Mary Washington and currently teaches at Marymount University. He holds economic degrees from Brigham Young University and George Mason University. DuBravac resides in Virginia with his three sons. When not helping executive teams unlock innovative thinking, he can be found climbing 14ers, running marathons and coaching youth sports.
The Future of Work - Are Robots Going to Take Our Jobs? 
Artificial intelligence and robotics are challenging traditional norms of work. Employers are increasingly incorporating digital tools and in turn, redefining work and the modern day worker. Yet, at the intersection of technological innovation and human work, there are a myriad of complexities developing. The new breed of quantified workers will enhance productivity and opportunities for business expansion but employers have to handle mounting privacy concerns and new challenges for executives. A host of emerging technologies offer opportunities for business expansion and potential efficiencies while creating new challenges executives must tackle.

Finance and Risk Management in a New Digital Age
The next era of financial intermediation is upon us. The coming digital decade will transform every aspect of finance. Digitization is opening new market opportunities from AI-driven decision making to cryptocurrencies. Bots and other emerging technologies are influencing how individuals interact and changing the advisor-client relationship. Mounting cyber attacks, the rise of artificial intelligence and digitized data are altering risk management and mitigation, how decisions are made, and how valuations are derived. Every element of the financial community will be impacted by disruptive digital forces, creating both havoc and opportunities for incumbent firms and start-ups alike.

Transportation Transformation
The world of logistics and transportation are being transformed with the advent of self-driving vehicles, robots and the mass digitization of supply chains. The wide deployment of sensors will enable data harvesting from connected individuals, equipment and transportation facilities that will drive data-driven decisions and streamline execution. Technological-induced changes have implications for the entire supply chain as new services are born that are forever changing the face of transportation.

Voice, AR, Blockchain and more: The Challenges and Opportunities of Emerging Technologies 
A profusion of technological changes on the horizon are poised to forever change the way we work, live and communicate. Voice computing is ushering in a new user interface and changing the way we compute. Virtual reality and augmented reality are altering the way we interact and blurring the lines between the physical and digital worlds. New use-cases for drones, 3D-printers and wearables are arising daily. Self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and the blockchain are fundamentally changing business processes. Increasing swaths of our lives are connected but cybersecurity and privacy concerns are just some of the challenges as we usher a new world filled with technological innovations.

Digital Objects > People - The Future in a World of IoT 
Ten years ago the number of “things” connected to the Internet surpassed the number of people on the planet and this technological tsunami continues to escalate. As objects add capabilities such as context awareness, processing power, energy independence the Internet of Things will grow exponentially. illions or even trillions of connections becomes a network of networks and create boundless opportunities for businesses, individuals and countries. There is a tremendous amount of experimentation taking place today that will redefine our future and influence how we work, communicate and live. The fuel of the next industrial revolution is upon us but it will not be mechanical inventions as it has been through all the ages of history.

Artificial Intelligence 
Elon Musk argues artificial intelligence (AI) poses a greater threat to humanity than nuclear weapons while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes AI will save lives. This juxtaposition reveals the existential threat and potential AI possesses. From accelerating information flow on major weather events to writing sophisticated texts, spreading fake news and undermining public trust, AI is ushering in a new digital paradigm. What’s clear is that AI is going to change all that we know about the digital world and in turn, have massive ramifications on the physical world.