The Futurists

This week on The Futurists we get to engage with one of the world's foremost experts in hydrology, the study of Water, and the relationship of water to emerging climate change. Gleick is considered one of the world's foremost experts in the arena, and while things look bleak in the medium term, we get solidly into the long future of water and the tools at our disposal for water mitigation and geo-engineering. We also check out Peter's latest book the Three Ages of Water BIO - https://www.gleick.com/#about

Josh Bernoff’s entire career as an analyst and author has been focused on the future. In this episode The Futurists discuss forecasting: What is the difference between strategic insight and tactical decisions? Why is is so difficult to predict the timing of forecasts? Why organizations have a bias towards the status quo, and why futurists have a bias towards change. Josh explains how summarizing "What It Means" can bring a liberating clarity to forecasts and strategic plans.

Jim Rutt solves complex future problems by taking action. When we say complex, we mean very complex!. A pioneer of networked society since 1980, Jim launched the world’s first online community, and later led Network Solutions and the Santa Fe Institute. In this episode of the Futurists, the discussion moves fluidly from theory to practice as Jim explains his Game B initiative with colorful language and fresh insight. Topics include: complexity science, applied artificial intelligence, the importance of the number zero, the failures of governance mechanisms, the doom loop of money-on-money return, and why we need a system that is focused on optimizing human wellbeing within planetary limits.

Michael Margolis, founder and CEO of Storied, is an expert in constructing intentional narratives about the future. The stories Michael tells are not about people but, rather, about products and technology. He has developed a unique approach to navigating digital transformation and change management. This inspiring and provocative episode covers a broad range of topics including the fundamental human need for narrative structure in industry, politics, technology, mass media, machine intelligence, and more. Michael reveals the hidden dynamics of narrative structure that frame our understanding of the world and our shared perception of reality.

AI researcher Monica Anderson guides the Futurists beyond first principles to the zeroth level of science, which is epistemology.  Monica argues that science suffers from a kind of cognitive dissonance, relying upon a reductionist approach instead of holistic principles. In this episode, Monica explains why: AI alignment is trivial; malevolent behavior must be intentionally programmed; all problem-solving methodologies break down into two categories; complex problems differ from complicated problems; small syntax models outperform large language models; AI may be more impartial than a jury in court; AI will be required for licensed professions; home-schooled AI will be trained on your home computer; and a lot more.

This week on The Futurists we are joined by renowned journalist and a true renaissance man, Monty Munford. Monty has appeared on the BBC, written for Forbes, The Telegraph and contributed to TechCrunch, Mashable, Fast Company, Huffington Post, Wired, MIT Technology Review, The Independent, The Guardian, Financial Times, and The Times of India. He explains why he's had to become a futurist to do his day job better, and why tech continues to be so disruptive to our social order.

On this weeks futurist we have the return of New York Times Bestselling Author, Kevin J Anderson. In this week’s episode Kevin takes on a journey as to how technology has dramatically changed his connection with his readers for the publication of new books, including multiple very successful Kickstarter campaigns. We talk writing for the Dune and Start Wars Universes, and dive into Dan Shambles, the detective every zombie needs.

Legendary sci fi author, astrophysicist, and NASA advisor David Brin rejoins the Futurists for a special first anniversary show. Topics include: Wall Street’s insatiable AIs, Karl Marx and capitalism, the magic of competition, Hollywood tropes, self-preventing prophecies, the flaw in Asimov’s laws of robotics and hope for a positive sum game.

This week The Futurists speak with Jennifer Pahlka, the founder of Code for America. Jennifer served in Barack Obama's White House as the US Deputy Chief Technology Officer where she launched the US Digital Service. In this episode, Jennifer reveals the tactics to surmount the myriad obstacles that thwart government agencies when they seek to deploy digital technology to improve the delivery of services to citizens.

Dr. Cain Elliott discusses the digitization of the legal industry, driven by client demand not lawyers. Topics include the broken business model of legal services, political barriers to change, and the transformative potential of legal tech.