Futurist Gerd Leonhard has kicked off this year with a special new show called GerdTalks, a bi-weekly series of free LIVE events broadcasted via his YouTube channel, LinkedIn, Twitch and many other platforms (not on Facebook :). Updated URLs will be shared the day before the event – Please sign up here (Eventbrite) for the next one (yes, it’s free).
This new series features 15-minute presentations by Gerd, followed by 20+ minutes of fast-moving Q&A using comments and chats. Episode 1 was all about the Future Mindset and you can watch it below (you can also watch or download the complete episode on Vimeo!)
In Episode 2, Gerd presented his thoughts on the ideas behind the metaverse aka what he calls the MetaPERverse (approx. 15 minutes), and outlined where he thinks this is going. Watch it here
“The so-called metaverse is the latest and the boldest attempt to replace human relationships and experiences with highly monetizable simulations, reducing complex human life to data feeds, fancy graphics and AI-fuelled convenience: Consensual hallucinations sold as ‘human empowerment’. We should be careful what we wish for – such as to live in an ultra-convenient, amazing new world where we can be anyone and do anything – as we may find that our new virtual dwellings may seemingly allow us to gain a few new riches while endangering our very humanity and leading us away from real happiness”
Gerd Leonhard
And because this is such a hot topic, Gerd did a rerun of this show on LinkedIn. You can watch it here.
You can also listen to the audio-only /podcast versions of all GerdTalks episodes here.
The coming Feb 21 Episode’s topic is on how Facebook / META has become toxic and needs to be purged. Futurist Gerd Leonhard will present his case against Meta and explore the future of social media.
Again, this presentation will be around 15 minutes, followed by an open Q&A session with the audience (using commenting and chat).
Tune in to the next GerdTalks, on Monday 21st February at 6pm CET, 9am PST, 12pm EST.
We hope to see you there!