The Futurists

While the 2025 wildfires still burn, a special eyewitness account from Rob, located deep in the fire zone in Los Angeles. He and Brett discuss the economic, environmental and psychological toll of one of the nation’s worst natural disasters.  Also, the looming instance crisis and the challenge of measuring the true economic toll of ecological disaster and inaction by Congress.

As we head into Davos at the end of the month, we are bringing in world class futurists that will be participating at the World Economic Forum. This week we have an Artist turned Futurist,  Dina Baenninger, who debates the need for real  artistry, creativity and modeling in scenario planning  and how it’s not just all about strategic thinking and trending. Dina is heading to Davos to apply this level of creativity personally.

In this week's episodes Brian Solis, Brett King and Rob Tercek get together to brainstorm and model the possible big advances and macro changes that are likely to come in 2025. From Trump's first year back, to the broader market changes and climate impact issues. This is what happens when you let three futurists out after dark to talk about short-term futures

Donna Dupont is the Chief Strategist at Purple Compass. She is a deep expert in designing foresight and forecasting scenarios for defense, national security, policing, public safety and public health for government agencies clients in Europe and North America. In this episode, she provides practical advice, based on her experience, for how to contend with increasing volatility in society, geopolitics, the environment and economics.

In this episode Fabrice Grinda joins host Brett Kong to talk about his tech investing is changing and how angel investors make bets in a radically changing environment. How soon will AI impact? What about smart glasses, how soon will they be mainstream? A wide ranging discussion on tech investments and the players behind them Brett KingBestselling Author, Founder, Radio Host  www.thefuturists.comwww.brettking.com

This week on The Futurists, a cross-over episode with Breaking Banks as host Brett King takes us to Shanghai for a riveting discussion with Jason Cao, CEO of Huawei's Global Financial Services competency. In this eye-opening episode, they uncover how China is shaping the future with AI—not as a mere tool for profit, but as core infrastructure driving the world's fastest-growing economy. Discover why GenFi LLMs (Generational Financial Language Models) don’t exist yet—and what’s holding AI like ChatGPT back from transforming banking as we know it. Explore how China’s unique approach to technology infrastructure is setting them apart from the rest, helping them to create a Smart Economy of the Future. Tune in for a conversation that could redefine the future of global finance and AI!

Brett and Rob unpack the result of the 2024 US national election. President-elect Donald Trump has announced candidates for his next Administration. The verdict? His picks are a clown car of unqualified candidates who intend to dismantle the apparatus of the federal government of the United States. What might this wrecking ball achieve…or destroy? Who benefits from the chaos?  Join us for a lively future-focused discussion about geopolitics, BRICs, global trade, technology, isolationism, the viability of NATO, the fate of small nations. Plus, the immense power of billionaires who have stepped forward to demand their share of the spoils. And one wildcard: will Donald Trump be the instrument of humanity’s survival?  Absurd?.  But if the Trump Administration green-lights a SpaceX mission to Mars, there’s a non-zero probability that Elon Musk’s long term plan for human colonization of another planet might actually occur.

In this week’s show Bestselling Author Michael J Casey, the chairman of DAIS (Decentralized AI Society), senior advisor on MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency initiative, and previous Chair of Consensus at CoinDesk, joins Brett to talk the reality of decentralized and open source AI. The intersection of DeFi and DeAI appears to be a logical path if not for the hundreds of billions being invested in big tech efforts to create AGI. Is it possible to really make AI less centralized and still deliver the promise of a highly automated world? You’ll need to tune in to find out!

Humanity's largest and most complex invention is the global supply chain.  More than 2 millions companies in 118 nations participate in the supply chain via GS1, the non-profit organization that manages data standards for global trade.  Melanie Hilton of GS1 US is one of the world’s leading experts on innovation in the supply chain. She joins the Futurists to discuss the deployment of artificial intelligence, robotics, big data and digital transformation in retail, shipping, container ports, and manufacturing in every corner of the planet.

This week we have an extraordinary show. Chief Tashka Yawanawa, of the Yawanawa tribe in the heart of the Acre River region in the Amazon rainforest joins Brett King to talk the effects of climate change and deforestation happening today in the world’s largest rainforest. The Yawanawa tribe are custodians of over 400 Hectares of Amazonian land and we get to hear first hand. If you have any doubt in your mind that climate change is impacting the planet, this is one you must listen to with an open mind.