Futurist: Gene Stephens, 59, a professor at the University of South Carolina College of Criminal Justice and the criminal-justice editor of the Futurist.

Scenario: ‘Information technology is reshaping the logic of everything from business strategy to work to pop culture. It’s also reshaping the logic of crime: what it looks like, how it takes place, and how we as a society choose to fight it. We’re seeing more identity theft-illegally obtaining a credit-card number, a social-security number, or other information. As we become a cashless society, electronic banking will no doubt make our financial lives simpler, but it will also make it easier for criminals to access our bank accounts. The ‘Willie Sutton Principle’ still applies: Criminals go where the money is.’

So What? ‘One effect of the growth of cyber crime is that we feel safer, especially as street crime declines. But in a world dominated by white-collar crime, there’s a lot more to lose than we may think-especially as we step up our efforts to fight such crime. It will become harder for honest citizens to escape the reach of law enforcement or to maintain their privacy, as birth-to-death dossiers are created on everyone. With satellites, we can already see through and hear through walls. It’s possible that in the not-too-distant future, we’ll have the ability to implant nanocomputers in people’s brains that will allow us to monitor their intentions and control their behavior. We’ll have the option of injecting people with hormones to calm them down, or of reengineering them to be nonviolent.’

Futurology Decoder Key: ‘One of the prevailing myths in America is that there are a finite number of criminals out there. But the truth is that more of us than we choose to believe have the potential to commit crimes. Digital technology dramatically increases the number of potential crime victims-and the pool of potential criminals.

‘At the same time, technology might someday serve as an effective way to punish criminals. Instead of relying on prisons, we could make better use of electronic monitoring devices. Pair them with positioning satellites, and we could follow criminals wherever they go.’

Contact Gene Stephens by e-mail (stephens-gene@sc.edu), or visit the futurist on the Web (http://wfs.org/futurist.htm).

The Garden promotes two creative directors

ACDs Lindsay Eady and Francheska Galloway-Davis have taken over responsibility for day-to-day creative leadership at The Garden after being promoted to creative director roles.

The pair will also help develop the agency’s creative talent, formalizing mentorship and leadership activities they have been doing since joining the agency four and three years ago, respectively. In addition to creating the agency’s internship program, the pair have worked on campaigns for Coinsquare, FitTrack and “The Coke Challenge” campaign for DanceSafe.

Eady and Galloway-Davis will continue to report to The Garden’s co-founder and chief creative officer Shane Ogilvie, who is stepping back from daily creative duties to a more high-level strategic role, allowing him to focus on client relationships and business growth.

Naked Creative Consultancy names new creative and strategy leadership

Toronto’s Naked Creative Consultancy has hired Yasmin Sahni as its new creative director. She is taking over creative leadership from David Kenyon, who has been in the role for 10 years and is moving into a new role as director of strategy, leading the discipline at the agency.

Sahni is coming off of three years as VP and ECD at GTB’s Toronto office, where she managed all the retail, social and service creative for Ford Canada. She previously managed both Vice Media and Vice’s in-house ad agency Virtue.

Peter Shier, president of Naked, says Sahni’s hiring adds to its creative bench and capabilities, as well as a track record of mentorship, a priority for the company. Meanwhile, Kenyon’s move to the strategy side, he says, makes sense because of his deep knowledge of its clients, which have included Ancestry and The Globe and Mail.

Digital Ethos opens a Toronto office

U.K. digital agency Digital Ethos is pursuing new growth opportunities in North America by opening a new office in Toronto.

Though it didn’t disclose them, the agency has begun serving a number of North American clients, and CEO/founder Luke Tobin says the “time was right to invest in a more formal and actual presence in the area.” whose services include design, SEO, pay-per-click, social media, influencer and PR,

This year, the agency’s growth has also allowed it to open an office in Hamburg, Germany, though it also has remote staff working in countries around the world.

Moray Hickes was the company’s first North American hire as VP of sales, tasked with business development in the region.