November 16th, 2023 by
Category: Technology and Humanity

TEDx Cluj

This is a slightly edited version of my June 10, 2023, TEDx talk in Cluj, Romania. I presented a fast-paced talk on the future of technology, artificial intelligence, jobs, work, and education, outlining why too much of a good thing (such as exponential technologies) can be a very bad thing, and asking some key questions:

  • How can we make sure that all technology results in collective human flourishing?

The details in Romanian: Oameni, Planetă, Scop și Prosperitate” este mottoul lui Gerd Leonhard, iar a ajuta la crearea „viitorului bun” este obiectivul său principal. Gerd este unul dintre futurologii de top din întreaga lume; a prezentat la peste 1700 de conferințe și evenimente de top în ultimii 20 ani și a lucrat cu companii precum Microsoft, NBC, Visa, Google, Comisia Europeană, L’Oréal, Audi, Deloitte și IBM. Gerd a influențat și inspirat milioane de oameni să-și imagineze și să creeze un viitor mai bun. A fost numit unul dintre cei mai influenți europeni ai Wired UK în 2015 și se află pe locul 7 în clasamentul global al futurologilor. Din 2020, Gerd și-a dezvoltat în continuare stilul unic de ”keynote television” și a devenit rapid unul dintre cei mai populari prezentatori virtuali din întreaga lume. Gerd este, de asemenea, fost muzician profesionist, producător de film și muzică apreciat de critici, fost milionar ”dotcom” eșuat si membru al Societății Regale de Arte (Londra)

Chapter shortcuts:

00:00 – Intro 01:45 – Exponential technological progress: It could be heaven, or it could be hell. 02:06 – Technology is morally neutral until we use it. 02:46 – The six big game-changers: AI, Quantum Computing, Fusion… 04:22 – Your mindset contains the future. 05:27 – We urgently need more TELOS (wisdom, balance, purpose). 07:05 – AI: turning information and data into knowledge? 12:09 – The human-only turf: wisdom, purpose, consciousness, and understanding. 13:19 – The Future of AI: who’s in control? 14:35 – Invest as much in humanity as you invest in technology 16:05 – Technology can do great things, but it doesn’t want to do great things 16:52 – We should always keep ‘humans in the loop’

You can watch this presentation captioned in 8 languages (use the CC button)!

Thanks to a partnership with Rask.ai this talks is also available dubbed in Chinese, French, German and Spanish

You can also listen to my speech on SoundCloud, and on Spotify

Author: Gerd Leonhard

In the words of American poet John Berryman, “the possibility that has been overlooked is the future”. Most of us are far too busy coping with present challenges to explore the future in any depth – and when we do our own cravings and fears often run away with us, resulting in utopias or dystopias that are not very helpful in terms of planning and decisions. Today’s professionals, leaders and their organisations need a dedicated, passionate long-term understanding of the future if they are to successfully navigate the exponential waves of change. For countless individuals and organizations that intelligence is called Gerd Leonhard.

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