The Futurists

Latest Episodes:

It’s Different this time Mar 31, 2023

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Chief Futurist for one of the largest consulting practices on the planet, Kasey Lobaugh joins the futurists this week to talk about the building blocks for the worlds of tomorrow. While at Deloitte, Kasey has spearheaded research into the next level of disruptive innovations and technologies that are reshaping business. When talking AI Kasey maintains that this is unlike any other innovation wave we’ve ever faced and that large scale technounemployment is a real possibility.

Accelerating Uncertainty Mar 24, 2023

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What happens when society is subject to accelerated change? Now we know: uncertainty and widespread panic. March 2023 was the month when the old systems began to collapse and entirely new systems were launched. In one month we experienced a viral run on banks, the launch of AI superpowers, and the exposure of systematic deceit at a major news publisher. In this special edition of The Futurists, co-hosts Brett King and Robert Tercek review current events through the lens of the future. Who profits from uncertainty and confusion? How do the merchants of doubt leverage social and traditional media to undermine faith in conventional norms and governance? Can the trustworthiness of machine learning systems be certified? By whom? Discussion topics include: democracy versus autocracy in a time of rapid change; the business of social inequality; the failure of Silicon Valley Bank; lies and manipulation at Fox News; the false dichotomy of political parties; the inaccuracy of ChatGPT; the advent of robotic corporations in the clouds; why it’s more profitable to break consensus than to build it; and the greater chaos is yet to come.

India’s Big Ambitions Mar 17, 2023

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In this weeks episode of The Futurists we talk to author Gunjan Bagla, a leading figure in India-US trade relationships and commerce. Bagla argues that while China is seen as a massive threat to the US, India is a natural ally of the west having supported outsourcing over the last 4 decades, and being more aligned on policy. But like China, India has big ambitions and will overtake China as the most populous nation this decade. Will that translate into economic growth or does India need infrastructure investment to level up as a global economic powerhouse?

The Future of Games Mar 10, 2023

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Co-hosts Brett King and Robert Tercek interview journalist Dean Takahashi, who has been covering innovation in the game industry for three decades. Dean gives The Futurists a post-CES roundup of new trends and genres that span a dizzying array of evolving technologies. Games have expanded beyond a niche category of entertainment to dominate mainstream media. Games now foster new story franchises that attract tens of millions of fans daily. Dean explains how game tech is blurring the boundaries between the classic game industry and other media, such as motion pictures and television series. He tells us why game developers are most likely to lead the way into the metaverse. And he anticipates interoperable game economies where any player can also be a creator of generative worlds that are photorealistic. Topics include: core gamers, casual games, free-to-play, cloud gaming, blockchain games, VR and AR, Roblox, Fortnite, PUBG, digital twins and game communities. Websites: @DeanTak on Twitter GamesBeat.com VentureBeat.com

Exponential Progress in MedTech Mar 03, 2023

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Co-hosts Brett King and Rob Tercek speak with medical futurist Dr. Daniel Kraft on the topic of exponential health care. Kraft reports that we’ve entered a decade-long era of rapid innovation that began with the pandemic. Covid-19 accelerated progress in health care from incremental to exponential, including: vaccines derived from messenger RNA, consumerized health care and home diagnostic kits, loosening of regulation to allow telemedicine, and innovation in payments. What’s next: hybrid care, AI medical chatbots, the “mediverse”, advanced sensors, DNA sequencing, the Big Data shift from quantified self to quantified health, advances in wearables, “predictalytics", the advantages of crowdsourcing actionable data, democratization and equity in global health care, medical tricorders, 3D printed medications and foods, “humanized” pigs. Daniel extends an invitation to listeners to visit his event www.NextMed.Health and to access the free resources at www.Digital.Health https://danielkraftmd.net/

The Next Renaissance Feb 24, 2023

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Anders Sorman-Nilsson is a Swedish futurist living in Australia, but he believes that humanity is on the cusp of a new renaissance where humanity finds purpose beyond consumption and market profit. He calls out human systems that are coming to a natural conclusion due to this emerging thinking, including the damage that fossil fuel companies and others have done to our ecosystem in the name of profits. Ultimately, Anders is an optimist but he thinks that human behavior and technological leaps and bounds don't necessarily align, but it's navigating the conflict between our long-held traditions, global conflicts, and climate disasters, along with our rapidly advancing technical capabilities that will define humanity for centuries to come. We get deep on this one...

Technology That Heals Feb 17, 2023

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In this episode, creative technologist Roger Holzberg recounts his personal career journey from the Imagineering studio at the Walt Disney Company, where he devised and built original theme park rides, to his second career as where he applies immersive technology to health care and healing, first at the National Cancer Institute and now as a med tech innovator at Reimagine Well. Roger explains the subtle art of balancing new technologies with real world events and the ever-evolving customer experience. Discussion topics include: designing deep futures, the use case for virtual reality and augmented reality, dealing with animated dolphins, lessons from Walt Disney’s Imagineering, visualization tech in cancer treatment and research, the use of distraction therapy, healthcare by design, teaching the art of world building, turning students in Imagineers, environmental sustainability. https://reimaginewell.com/

The Future of Food Feb 10, 2023

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In the past, innovation in agriculture lagged behind consumer electronics and telecoms. Today, that's changing. As food futurist Tony Hunter explains, food is technology. In this episode, Hunter shares his view of tech-fueled advances in food production and distribution around the world. Topics include: supply chain disruption, new tech for farming, strategies for waste reduction, changes to food supply caused by the pandemic, the distinction between food security and food sovereignty, alternative proteins like lab-grown meat, vertical farming using hydroponics, genomics, microbiome, cellular agriculture, synthetic biology, plant molecular farming, how computing technologies like artificial intelligence accelerate innovation. If you’re interested in the future, then you really must tune into the changes afoot in the food industry. As Tony explains, food and drink are the only absolute non-discretionary items for daily human needs. https://www.FuturistForFood.com

The Future of Walmart Feb 04, 2023

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This week Brian Solis joins Brett in the hosting chair as Srujana Kaddevarmuth from Walmart labs joins the Futurists to delve into the future of in store and online interactions for the retail giant. From future store design, warehouse robotics through to data science and AI, we cover the gamut of possibilities of 21st century commerce.

The Future of Storytelling Jan 20, 2023

Show notes

This week on The Futurists our hosts interview Charlie Melcher, the founder of The Future of Storytelling. Charlie recounts the many ways that the ancient practice of storytelling is evolving in an era of immersive and interactive media. He is also a book publisher who uses innovations in printing technology to reinvent the 5000-year-old medium for contemporary audiences and he speculates about the future evolution of the craft of meaning-making. Web site: Www.thefutureofstorytelling.Org

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