Mapping the Future - Foresight, Tech, and MegaTrends (With Richard Watson) Ep# 109

What is a futurist, how can we best think about the future, and how do we overcome our collective sense of future shock? My guest Richard Watson and I dive into a detailed megatrends map that Richard put together as a way of helping to navigate the current and coming disruptions that will impact all of us.

Richard's Tools for thinking about the future: https://nowandnext.com/thinking-tools/
Timeline of emerging Science and technology: https://nowandnext.com/PDF/Timeline%20of%20Emerging%20Science%20and%20Technology.pdf
Table of Disruptive Technologies: https://nowandnext.com/PDF/Table%20of%20Disruptive%20Technologies.png
Megatrends and Technologies till 2050: https://nowandnext.com/PDF/Mega%20Trends%20and%20Technologies%202017-2050%20(Web).png
Book on aeging population demographics: https://www.biblio.com/book/extra-time-cavendish-camilla/d/1383632216?aid=frg&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsIejBhDOARIsANYqkD0iK_qHf7W-cmaSNxMCEeDLzu39_Lj0ejJk5vvzSA3q9AWd29qgbGwaAgdsEALw_wcB

About The guest

Richard Watson is a futurist speaker, author and scenario thinker who helps organisations to think further ahead, especially about emerging growth opportunities and risks.

Richard has worked with the Tech Foresight Practice at Imperial College London and London Business School and is co-founder, along with philosopher Professor Roger Steare and strategist Nick Turner, of Thinking Allowed, a 24-hour retreat from the non-stop noise of working life. Richard is also the author of five best-selling books, including Digital Vs. Human.

He is currently Futurist-in-Residence at the Entrepreneurship Centre at the Judge School at Cambridge University.

Website: nowandnext.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-watson-883b1327

Timecodes:

00:03:45 - Interview Begins

00:07:34 - Are futurists too focused on technology?

00:09:16 - Is the future constructed or is it determined?

00:13:02 - Are we all experiencing future shock?

00:15:42 - How should a futurist help organizations?

00:20:22 - Does taking the reigns of the future remove future shock?

00:25:23 - Which megatrends are the most relevant today?

00:29:08 - How much impact will a decline in the birth rate be?

00:33:07 - Unique tech and trends that most people haven't heard of...yet

00:41:13 - The negative ramifications of Brain Machine Interfaces

00:45:27 - A return to focusing on people rather than just profit

00:46:09 - Are most people aware of the tech and megatrends coming their way?

00:50:12 - Is it even worth understanding what the future might be like for the average person?

00:54:05 - Is Richard optimistic about the future?

00:54:58 - Conclusion and how to reach Richard