For decades, countless pundits and economists have cited the shocking lack of connection between pay and performance for top executives of public companies. Until recently, the problem only kept getting worse with each succeeding year. However, under the spotlight of institutional investors and regulators, some boards of directors are beginning to take their fiduciary responsibilities seriously. We'll examine this encouraging new trend, and its likely future.

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As futurist Richard W. Samson argues in his new book, Mind Over Technology, "Human mental processes are being systematically transferred into computers, microchips, networks, and mechanical devices of all types." This trend is not even on most policy-makers' radar screens, and yet it promises to be the most profoundly important trend of the 21st century. Depending on how this is handled, it could either create a new "golden era" for everyone, or force millions of blue- and white-collar workers below the poverty line while making "the rich" even richer. We'll examine the issues, implications, and possible outcomes.

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Great minds lead to great innovations. But the economic value of those innovations can only be tapped if intellectual property can be properly protected. Today, the patent system that's been in place for more than 200 years to create incentives for innovation is threatened by a frenzy of patent litigation. We'll look at the latest developments, as well as the threats and opportunities.

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Since the late 19th century, U.S. technological and economic preeminence has rested largely on one core strength: America's unparalleled ability to attract and nurture the best and brightest minds from around the world, particularly in the sciences. However, disturbing evidence indicates that the U.S. may have recently begun losing this important competitive edge. We'll explore this trend, along with its causes and implications, as well as the key policy initiative that could reverse the trend.

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Like the spectrum, computing power has always been a limited and inadequate resource. That's particularly an issue when it comes to the most complex problems facing counter-terrorism experts, molecular biologists, and nuclear physicists. Quantum computing holds the solution, but until recently the barriers to its commercialization have seemed overwhelming. However, the latest research trends are beginning to reveal that the concept is rapidly moving closer to reality. We'll examine the status of quantum computing and offer some serious forecasts for your consideration.

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Ever since Marconi invented the radio, communication spectrum has been treated as a finite resource that must be regulated and carefully allocated to the most effective applications. However, a new generation of emerging technology is about to change all that. The time is quickly coming when bandwidth will become effectively infinite, relative to human needs. We'll explain how this works, and examine the key threats and opportunities being created.

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