Category: Futuristgerd

Here is the PDF from my presentation at the Nasscom BPM Summit in Bangalore today: Technology, Humanity and the Future

Nasscom BPM Bangalore Gerd Leonhard Technology Humanity The Future Public Deck LOW RES More details here  

Google’s data centers with DeepMind-powered AI

In our category “good tech”, we applaud the news that DeepMind began applying its advanced AI to Google’s data centers, in order to find ways to reduce the company’s sizeable energy bill. Two years ago, Google spent over half a billion dollars for the London-based artificial intelligence startup DeepMind. Since then, the unit became an Atari gaming pro player and … Continue reading "Google’s data centers with DeepMind-powered AI"

What are androrithms?

One of the powerful key memes from the Technology vs Humanity book are androrithms. Gerd Leonhard in his own words: This is a key neologism in the book (i.e. a word I made up). I use the term to describe what really matters for most of us: human ‘rhythms’ not machine rhythms i.e. algorithms. A super-computer can win in … Continue reading "What are androrithms?"

The megashifts

One of the powerful key memes from Gerd Leonhard‘s new book  Technology vs Humanity are The Megashifts. Because of exponential technological change and how its forces are combining with each other, these 10+ trends are absolutely essential to understand as they may create huge new opportunities – or challenge existing business models, social contracts or humanity at … Continue reading "The megashifts"

Technology is not what we seek but HOW we seek

Are you ready for the greatest changes in recent human history? Futurism meets humanism in Gerd Leonhard’s ground-breaking new work of critical observation, discussing the multiple Megashifts that will radically alter not just our society and economy but our values and our biology. Wherever you stand on the scale between technomania and nostalgia for a … Continue reading "Technology is not what we seek but HOW we seek"

On Facebook’s ‘universal’ censorship rules

Brilliant important statement, by editor-in-chief Espen Egil Hansen, of the Norwegian daily newspaper Aftenposten, in reply to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook’s demand to remove a picture of a naked Kim Phuc, fleeing from the napalm bombs – one of the world’s most famous war photographs. Facebook deleted the article as well as the image from Aftenposten’s Facebook page. If you will … Continue reading "On Facebook’s ‘universal’ censorship rules"

Will humanity need its own protection agency? Scenes and slides from the Technology vs Humanity book launch event in London

Thanks everyone for coming to this event – here is what happened :)) The actual slide deck from last night (PDF): technology-versus-humanity-futurist The book is now available in all formats, of course: buy now before it’s too late:) Amazon | FastFuture Publishing) A gallery of my key slides: Some pics from the event: Best of my slides: Technology vs … Continue reading "Will humanity need its own protection agency? Scenes and slides from the Technology vs Humanity book launch event in London"

The Global Brain

Are you ready for the greatest changes in recent human history? Futurism meets humanism in Gerd Leonhard’s ground-breaking new work of critical observation, discussing the multiple Megashifts that will radically alter not just our society and economy but our values and our biology. Wherever you stand on the scale between technomania and nostalgia for a … Continue reading "The Global Brain"

Stanford University One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence 2016 Report (AI100)

“As a society, we are underinvesting resources in research on the societal implications of AI technologies. Private and public dollars should be directed toward interdisciplinary teams capable of analyzing AI from multiple angles.” The One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence, launched in the fall of 2014, is a long-term investigation of the field of … Continue reading "Stanford University One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence 2016 Report (AI100)"

Universal basic income to unleash the world’s creativity?

There’s a lot of thought and discussion on the Universal Basic Income (UBI) form of social security in very different parts of the world, all with different social and capitalist backgrounds. UBI would guarantee all citizens or residents of a country to regularly receive an unconditional sum of money, either from a government or some other public institution, in addition … Continue reading "Universal basic income to unleash the world’s creativity?"

PRESS RELEASE: Gerd Leonhard’s new book: Technology vs. Humanity – The coming clash between man and machine

PRESS RELEASE: NEW BOOK – Technology vs. Humanity: The coming clash between man and machine In his latest book ‘Technology vs. Humanity’, futurist Gerd Leonhard once again breaks new ground by bringing together mankind’s urge to upgrade and automate everything (including human biology itself) with our timeless quest for freedom and happiness. Before it’s too … Continue reading "PRESS RELEASE: Gerd Leonhard’s new book: Technology vs. Humanity – The coming clash between man and machine"

Hyper Reality by Keiichi Matsuda

Feeling a bit disconnected from the latest Pokémon Go craze? Don’t worry,  if you’re still mostly living in the real world, Pokémon Go players tend to look like lost zombies searching for the virtual Holy Grail. If you dig virtual worlds, it’ll probably get worse. To get a glimpse of how a not too distant future may look like for consumers through … Continue reading "Hyper Reality by Keiichi Matsuda"

How to see the future (podcast interview with Glen Hiemstra)

How to think like a futurist. Glen Hiemstra, founder of futurist.com, explains what he looks at when spotting trends and how to see the future. In this 30-minute podcast interview, Glen discusses the 3-part filter he uses to judge the future likelihood of a particular development. The podcast is part of the Popular Mechanics longer series How … Continue reading "How to see the future (podcast interview with Glen Hiemstra)"

Best quotes from: Computers, the Internet, and the Abdication of Consciousness (Stephen Talbott, 1995!)

Via the Nature Institute   be sure to read Stephen’s 1995 (!) book  (online, free, or via Amazon).  I am currently working translating his views into 2016… stay tuned! “Can human ideals survive the Internet? His reply is only if we arouse ourselves to responsible consciousness” “[T]oday the needful work is to distinguish ourselves from our … Continue reading "Best quotes from: Computers, the Internet, and the Abdication of Consciousness (Stephen Talbott, 1995!)"

Digital Ethics: video and slides from my presentation at TedX Brussels

Digital Ethics and the future of humans in a digital world – Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard from Gerd Leonhard Digital Ethics Gerd Leonhard TedXBrussels Futurist Speaker-web  9mb PDF High res version via Dropbox (30MB PDF) More details and lifestream here Great illustration of my talk by the TedxBrussels illustrator Zsofi Lang. Thanks!!   UPDATE: here is the video   … Continue reading "Digital Ethics: video and slides from my presentation at TedX Brussels"

▶ Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard on Jibo and so-called social robots (TedX Brussels), Digital Ethics – YouTube

The Futurebots are here: IBM Watson ingests 2,000 TED Talks, now answers your deepest questions. The end of Futurists? Take the Poll.

Great read via Business Insider UK about IBM’s Watson ‘watching’ and understanding (?) and analysing (ok… yes) 2000+ Ted Talks. He/she/it (?) now knows everything there is about trivial questions such as: What is the relationship between money and psychology?        What is the secret to happiness?    What is the meaning of life? … Continue reading "The Futurebots are here: IBM Watson ingests 2,000 TED Talks, now answers your deepest questions. The end of Futurists? Take the Poll."

Digital transformation: the key points and some bottom lines by keynote speaker Gerd Leonhard

Me and my colleagues at The Futures Agency are getting a lot of speaking requests on the Digital Transformation topic (or should I say ‘meme’) so I figured it would be good to share some of the key points here. Enjoy and spread the word if you like the post.   The valley of death     Gradually then suddenly     The Internet, and … Continue reading "Digital transformation: the key points and some bottom lines by keynote speaker Gerd Leonhard"

The future of work and jobs: a short overview of the key issues, illustrations, stats and videos

The future of work and jobs has become a major topic for me. It is abundantly clear that the exponential digitisation, optimization, automation, virtualisation and robotisation (phew!) of society will result in a huge number of job losses around the globe, first in blue-collar jobs and then in white-collar jobs and among the so-called knowledge … Continue reading "The future of work and jobs: a short overview of the key issues, illustrations, stats and videos"

The complete video of my recent keynote on artificial intelligence (Envestnet India Trivandrum Event)

Here it is, finally! Apologies for the rather undistinguished audio quality. More about this event here.  More about AI and me here and here     and some images as usual