The Futurists

This week Brett interview he founder of the world’s first data savings account and data wallet ecosystem, Andre Vellozo of Drumwave. Vellozo makes a compelling case that GDPR and data privacy regulations won’t work in the age of AI, that we need data ownership structures and the ability to monetize our data, especially related to digital twin models like AI-based healthcare. Drumwave maintains that owning your own data and deploying it in the emerging autonomous world might eliminate the need for UBI and other such proposals. Do you know where your data is? 

Zoltan István holds the distinction of being the first Transhumanist to run for President of the United States.  Now Zoltan has set his sights on the Governor’s office in California, a $4 trillion economy that ranks as the fourth-largest in the world, and the leader in global innovation. Zoltan joins the Futurists this week to discuss his plan to replace Gavin Newsom. He answers some pressing questions about the future risks and opportunities faced by the biggest US state.

Dan Schwarz, CEO and co-founder of FutureSearch.ai, discusses the future of AI-powered forecasting. He reveals how hybrid human-AI systems are surpassing traditional methods, while pure AI approaches still struggle. Topics include the potential pitfalls of AI predictions and the surprising long-term implications for industries. Dan emphasizes the need for a blend of human insight and machine intelligence to enhance accuracy, explore the concept of collective intelligence, and navigate the complexities of forecasting in technology.

Jon Snoddy is the CEO and founder of Operative Games, where he fuses gameplay with generative AI to create stories that permit the audience to interact with and engage with virtual characters. To create immersive story worlds, Jon draws on his long experience as a theme park designer, an R&D expert for movie studios, and a technologist at National Public Radio. 

This week Lisa Bodell, Top-50 ranked futurist, author, speaker and founder of FutureThink joins the Futurists. Bodell shares how she teaches structured scenario planning and why “real futurists use models, not guesses”. We discuss scenario planning at Pfizer, that eliminated thousands of hours through their “kill a stupid rule” initiative, and how AI will lead to more meaningful work and less of it. Brett hosts this one solo from Dubai with Lisa in Westchester, NY. 

Peter Hinssen is a best selling author and industry strategist focused on leadership and change management during turbulent times. His newest book is “The Uncertainty Principle”, arriving at the precise moment when business leaders must confront both massive geopolitical turmoil and runaway technological change. Don’t miss this lively discussion about the trends and management strategies that will shape the enterprise of the future.

What happens when we pass the point of technological change so profound that we can no longer predict or comprehend the future? Pay attention because it’s coming soon. For decades, futurists have theorized that the compound impact of converging, accelerating technologies will result in a singularity: that liminal moment when society is irreversibly transformed. This week David S Rose, New York City’s greatest angel investor and a prolific entrepreneur, joins The Futurists to share his perspectives about the experience of living through the knee of exponential change. Brace yourself.  

This week Brett and Rob take a check on the latest in AI news diving into the growing requirements for AI infrastructure, and the advances being made in Agentic-AI. We dive into Anthropic and Open AI’s latest announcements including the $6.5Bn acquisition by Open AI of Jony Ive’s revenue-less and customer-less startup, and we look at investments in the UAE in the world’s largest AI data center.

Doug Shapiro, a leading analyst in media trends and the writer behind the Mediator newsletter, discusses Hollywood's seismic shifts due to AI. He reveals how the creative landscape is evolving, with generative AI redefining content creation and storytelling. Shapiro emphasizes the migration of value in the media supply chain and the role of platforms like YouTube and TikTok in this transformation. He also examines the demise of traditional middlemen and the rise of new gatekeepers, ultimately predicting an era of infinite content for audiences.

Colin Megill joins the Futurists to describe a new model for finding consensus in a time of political chaos and intense partisan division. He is the inventor of Pol.is, a powerful open-source platform for coordinating the feedback, opinions, and preferences of large dispersed groups. Polis has been successfully deployed by governments in Asia and Europe to find pockets of agreement amid partisan rancor.  If you crave an alternative to political division and polarization, don’t miss this interview.