

London Futurists
London Futurists
Anticipating and managing exponential impact - hosts David Wood and Calum ChaceCalum Chace is a sought-after keynote speaker and best-selling writer on artificial intelligence. He focuses on the medium- and long-term impact of AI on all of us, our societies and our economies. He advises companies and governments on AI policy.His non-fiction books on AI are Surviving AI, about superintelligence, and The Economic Singularity, about the future of jobs. Both are now in their third editions.He also wrote Pandora's Brain and Pandora’s Oracle, a pair of techno-thrillers about the first superintelligence. He is a regular contributor to magazines, newspapers, and radio.In the last decade, Calum has given over 150 talks in 20 countries on six continents. Videos of his talks, and lots of other materials are available at https://calumchace.com/.He is co-founder of a think tank focused on the future of jobs, called the Economic Singularity Foundation. The Foundation has published Stories from 2045, a collection of short stories written by its members.Before becoming a full-time writer and speaker, Calum had a 30-year career in journalism and in business, as a marketer, a strategy consultant and a CEO. He studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University, which confirmed his suspicion that science fiction is actually philosophy in fancy dress.David Wood is Chair of London Futurists, and is the author or lead editor of twelve books about the future, including The Singularity Principles, Vital Foresight, The Abolition of Aging, Smartphones and Beyond, and Sustainable Superabundance.He is also principal of the independent futurist consultancy and publisher Delta Wisdom, executive director of the Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) Foundation, Foresight Advisor at SingularityNET, and a board director at the IEET (Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies). He regularly gives keynote talks around the world on how to prepare for radical disruption. See https://deltawisdom.com/.As a pioneer of the mobile computing and smartphone industry, he co-founded Symbian in 1998. By 2012, software written by his teams had been included as the operating system on 500 million smartphones.From 2010 to 2013, he was Technology Planning Lead (CTO) of Accenture Mobility, where he also co-led Accenture’s Mobility Health business initiative.Has an MA in Mathematics from Cambridge, where he also undertook doctoral research in the Philosophy of Science, and a DSc from the University of Westminster.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 15, 2024 • 42min
The Political Singularity and a Worthy Successor, with Daniel Faggella
Daniel Faggella, Head of Research at Emerj, discusses the Intelligence Trajectory Political Matrix, exploring diverse AI future visions. Topics include the Political Singularity, criteria for a 'worthy successor' AI, and the governance of superintelligence. The conversation delves into the complex future of AI, societal values alignment, and human-machine integration.

Mar 7, 2024 • 47min
The Longevity Singularity, with Daniel Ives
Discussing the field of epigenetic aging and the potential for reversing biological aging through innovative techniques. Exploring the use of AI transformer models to accelerate research. Delving into gene therapy for cellular rejuvenation and the implications of longevity singularity on society and politics.

Feb 21, 2024 • 39min
Where are all the Dyson spheres? with Paul Sutter
NASA advisor and cosmologist Paul Sutter discusses the concept of Dyson spheres, harnessing solar power, future human evolution, and the role of science communication in shaping our society. The conversation delves into the energy requirements, practical challenges, and potential benefits of megastructures surrounding stars.

Feb 13, 2024 • 43min
Provably safe AGI, with Steve Omohundro
Steve Omohundro, CEO of Beneficial AI Research, discusses the risks of powerful AI systems and the concept of basic AI drives. The podcast explores potential risks of super intelligent AI, the challenges of creating rules for smarter entities, creating conscious machines, and the use of mathematical proof for safe AI and verified code.

Feb 6, 2024 • 37min
Robots and the people who love them, with Eve Herold
Award-winning science writer Eve Herold discusses her book on social robots and the ethical considerations surrounding emotional robots. The chapter explores the portrayal of robots in movies and the potential benefits of using robots in scientific labs and healthcare. The impact of social robots on human culture is also discussed, including predictions of radical cultural changes.

Jan 25, 2024 • 37min
Education and work - past, present, and future, with Riaz Shah
Riaz Shah, former partner at EY and Professor for Innovation & Leadership at Hult International Business School, discusses the future of education, the impact of AI, disinformation and deep fakes, cycles of honesty and corruption in politics and media, and forecasts for larger corporations in 2024.

25 snips
Jan 18, 2024 • 42min
What is your p(doom)? with Darren McKee
The podcast discusses the threat of artificial superintelligence and the race to save the world. Topics include estimates for the existence of superintelligence, the likelihood of catastrophe for humanity, and recommendations for reducing the risk. The chapter also explores the need for regulation, the risks and concerns in the world of AI, and the urgency of addressing extinction.

Jan 11, 2024 • 45min
Climate Change: There’s good news and bad news, with Nick Mabey
Our guest in this episode is Nick Mabey, the co-founder and co-CEO of one of the world’s most influential climate change think tanks, E3G, where the name stands for Third Generation Environmentalism. As well as his roles with E3G, Nick is founder and chair of London Climate Action Week, and he has several independent appointments including as a London Sustainable Development Commissioner.Nick has previously worked in the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, the UK Foreign Office, WWF-UK, London Business School, and the UK electricity industry. As an academic he was lead author of “Argument in the Greenhouse”; one of the first books examining the economics of climate change.He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Jubilee honours list in 2022 for services to climate change and support to the UK COP 26 Presidency.As the conversation makes clear, there is both good news and bad news regarding responses to climate change.Selected follow-ups:Nick Mabey's websiteE3G"Call for UK Government to 'get a grip' on climate change impacts"The IPCC's 2023 synthesis reportChatham House commentary on IPCC report"Why Climate Change Is a National Security Risk"The UK's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC)Bjørn LomborgMatt RidleyTim LentonJason HickelMark CarneyMusic: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration

Jan 5, 2024 • 37min
Meet the electrome! with Sally Adee
Science and technology journalist Sally Adee discusses the use of electricity in the body and its potential future applications, including improving brain performance, healing wounds, stimulating regeneration, combating cancer, and reversing aspects of aging.

Dec 27, 2023 • 49min
Don't try to make AI safe; instead, make safe AI, with Stuart Russell
Professor Stuart Russell, author of 'Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach', discusses the need for safe AI, potential risks of advanced AI systems, the impact on work and human self-worth, implications of superintelligence, training neural networks, and overcoming limitations of language models.


