FUTURES Podcast

Arthur I. Miller shares his insights on machine generated artwork, the impact of artificial intelligence on the cultural landscape, and how computers are challenging our understanding of what it means to be creative. Dr. Arthur I. Miller is an emeritus professor of History and Philosophy of Science at University College London. He has lectured and written extensively on the history and philosophy of 19th- and 20th-century science and technology, cognitive science, scientific creativity, and the relation between art and science.  He is the author of Colliding Worlds: How Cutting-Edge Science is Redefining Contemporary Art and other books including Einstein, Picasso: Space, Time, and the Beauty That Causes Havoc. His latest book is entitled The Artist In the Machine. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Academic John Danaher shares his insights into the possibility of a post-work economy, the impact of increasing automation, and how our future might be determined by either becoming a cyborg or retreating into the virtual. John Danaher is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway and coeditor of Robot Sex: Social and Ethical Implications. He has published over forty papers on topics including the risks of advanced AI, the meaning of life and the future of work, the ethics of human enhancement, the intersection of law and neuroscience, the utility of brain-based lie detection, and the philosophy of religion. His work has appeared in The Guardian, Aeon, and The Philosophers’ Magazine. Find out more: http://futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Transhumanists Max More & Natasha Vita-More discuss their contributions to the field of transhumanism, the philosophical concept of morphological freedom, and how we can work to leverage advanced technology for human enhancement. Dr. Max More is an internationally acclaimed strategic philosopher widely recognized for his thinking on the philosophical and cultural implications of emerging technologies. Max’s contributions include founding the philosophy of transhumanism, authoring the transhumanist philosophy of extropy, and co-founding Extropy Institute, an organization crucial in building the transhumanist movement since 1990. Since the start of 2011, he has served as President and CEO of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, the world’s leading cryonics organization. He also developed the “Proactionary Principle”—a tool for making smarter decisions about advanced technologies by minimizing the dangers of progress and maximizing the benefits. Find out more: https://alcor.org/profiles/more.html Dr. Natasha Vita-More is one of the most recognized world figures whose research covers the potential future of humanity. The scope of her work covers science, technology, and socio-political issues of the advances in technology. She has been called “an early adapter of revolutionary changes” (Wired) and a “role model for superlongevity” (Village Voice), and featured in over two dozen televised documentaries on emerging technology, human enhancement, and life extension. Her pioneering writing on “Ageless Thinking”, her innovation “Primo Posthuman” a cross-platform whole body prosthetic, and her current work on the “Regenerative Generation” have vigorously established a strong incentive to many. Find out more: https://natashavita-more.com CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Quantitive futurist Amy Webb discusses the importance of trend forecasting, the global challenges faced by modern businesses, and the tools you need for thinking like a futurist. Amy Webb is a quantitative futurist. She is a professor of strategic foresight at the NYU Stern School of Business and the Founder of the Future Today Institute, a leading foresight and strategy firm that helps leaders and their organizations prepare for complex futures. Founded in 2006, the Institute advises Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies, government agencies, large nonprofits, universities and startups around the world. Amy was named to the Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 management thinkers most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed and led and was won the prestigious 2017 Thinkers50 RADAR Award. Amy’s special area of research is artificial intelligence, and she has advised three-star generals and admirals, White House leadership and CEOs of some of the world’s largest companies. Find out more: amywebb.io CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Professor Jack Qiu discusses iSlavery by exploring the ways factory workers are oppressed, how notorious corporations build systems of exploitation, and sharing what activists are doing to fight back. Jack is a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Goodbye iSlave: A Manifesto for Digital Abolition and Working-Class Network Society: Communication Technology and the Information Have-Less in Urban China. Find out more: http://www.com.cuhk.edu.hk/en-GB/people/teaching-staff/qiu-jack-l-c CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Cyborg anthropologist Amber Case discusses new forms of interaction between humans and computers, how we can design with sound, and the emerging field of calm technology. Amber Case studies the interaction between humans and computers and how our relationship with information is changing the way cultures think, act, and understand their worlds. She is an internationally recognized design advocate and speaker, a researcher at the Institute for the Future, and the author of Calm Technology and Designing With Sound. She spent two years as a fellow at MIT’s Center for Civic Media and Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Find out more: caseorganic.com CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Virtual reality (VR) pioneer Jeremy Bailenson discusses how VR experiences can change our perception of self, increase empathy, and lead to new forms of social interaction. Jeremy Bailenson is the founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab where he studies the psychology of VR, in particular how virtual experiences lead to changes in perceptions of self and others. His lab builds and studies systems that allow people to meet in virtual space, and explores the changes in the nature of social interaction. His most recent research focuses on how VR can transform education, environmental conservation, empathy, and health. Find out more: https://web.stanford.edu/~bailenso/ ON THIS EPISODE Virtual Human Interaction Lab  University of California, Berkeley Stanford University Dactyl Nightmare William Gibson Neuromancer J. Kenneth Salisbury Haptic technology Pat Hanrahan Stanford XR (Previously Rabbit Hole VR) Virtual reality Bryon Reeves  Mel Slater Cognitive Psychology  Brain-Computer Interface Wetware Neuroscience Chris Milk Tribeca Film Festival 1000 Cut Journey Courtney D. Cogburn Fernanda Herrera Common Sense Media Jakki Bailey Mark Farid Seeing I Skip Rizzo Call of Duty Tony Hall (BBC) BeAnotherLab Facebook Spaces AltspaceVR Inc High Fidelity Philip Rosendale Liden Lab Jaron Lanier Homuncular Flexibility Sherry Turkle The VOID Nomadic (Company) Ready Player One Nick Yee CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Author and media commentator Rachel Botsman discusses trust, collaborative consumption, and innovative new uses for blockchain technology. Rachel is the leading global authority on an explosive new era of trust. She’s an award-winning author, speaker, university lecturer and media commentator. Her specialism is an engaging and intelligent long-view of how technology is transforming human relationships and what this means for life, work and and how we do business. Her book, Who Can You Trust? (Penguin Portfolio) is set to revolutionise our perception of trust and will transform traditional ideas of banking, media, politics, consumerism, dating and even how we bring up our kids. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Therapist Michael Carthy discusses how he uses virtual reality to help individuals overcome anxiety, conquer their phobias and tackle their fears. Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) is backed by twenty years of scientific studies that prove its efficacy. Together with specialised software, Michael supervises his client's use of VR to ensure the process is controlled, safe & effective. Find out more: futurespodcast.net ON THIS EPISODE Virtual Reality Therapy Human Givens Joe Griffin Ivan Tyrrell Positive Psychology Flooding (Psychology) Fight-or-flight response CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

Performance artist Dani Ploeger discusses electronic waste (e-waste), planned obsolescence of technology and the posthuman in performance. Dani's work investigates and subverts the spectacles of sex, violence and waste in techno-consumer culture. He has undergone an operation in which electronic waste was installed in his abdomen by a body piercer, has worked with traditional metal workers in the old city of Cairo to encase tablet computers in plate steel, attended firearms training in Poland to shoot an iPad with an AK47, and travelled to dump sites in Nigeria to collect electronic waste originating from Europe. Find out more: futurespodcast.net ON THIS EPISODE (re)Performing the Posthuman Transhumanism Consumerism Guy Debord Zygmunt Bauman James Bond Kinect Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Electronic Waste Planned obsolescence Mary Douglas Transmediale Juju CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast Instagram: @futurespodcast Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast