future39 with John Koetsier

United Nations to take over Facebook, provide ad-free social utility for world

'United Nations’ is chapter 27 of Insights from the Future, a book I’m writing about technology, innovation, and people … from the perspective of the future. THIS IS NOT NEWS; IT IS A PROJECTION OF FUTURE NEWS. Subscribe to my newsletter to keep in touch and get notified when the book publishes. More info here: https://johnkoetsier.com/category/insights-from-the-future-book/

The wacky crazy cyborg future of AI, AR, VR, and brain-machine interfaces with Cathy Hackl

The augmented human and jobs of tomorrow, with Cathy Hackl ... What will it mean to be human when we can plug into our computers? Today we plug our computers in to power. Tomorrow, we might plug ourselves into them. AR and VR are changing how we see the world. AI and augmentation and brain-machine interfaces will change how we live, how we work, and how we play. Cathy and I chat about HTC Vive, Magic Leap, Oculus Quest, brain-machine interfaces, Upload (the new show on Amazon Prime), and augmented intelligence. We also talk about Apple and where Apple's upcoming product will fit, as well as the convergence of AR and VR.

Finite earth economy: is endless economic growth possible?

In the past, we’ve always been able to expand to some frontier … we’ve rarely hit the limits of our space or territory. That's no longer the case right now. As horrible as it is, Coronavirus is showing us what a clean earth might be: blue sky in Delhi, India. Animals returning in Germany. Quiet in our streets. Clean air in China. Is a finite earth economy possible? And what does growth look like in a finite earth economy? In this episode of future39, we talk with Bob Leonard, co-author of Moving to a Finite Earth Economy.

The Future of AI: Superintelligence and humans

Superintelligence: what happens in a world with AI that is hundreds or thousands of times smarter than humans?   In this episode of future39 we're chatting with research scientist Roman Yampolskiy. He’s a professor at the University of Louisville, and his most recent book is Artificial Superintelligence: A Futuristic Approach.   What we talk about:   - Define superintelligence … what are we talking about here?   - Assume we can create a superintelligence … or one emerges … what are the potential dangers?   - Is there any reason to assume that an artificial superintelligence would have any particular kind of morality?  - What about the opportunities? What would a superintelligence enable?   - Elon Musk thinks we’ll have to augment to compete. Agree?   - What happens to humans in a world with one -- or many -- superintelligences?   - How likely do you think a superintelligence is in the next 10 to 20 years?

Funding moonshots: Creating tomorrow’s futures with today’s dollars

Tesla. Apple. Google. Facebook.  Every company inventing the future started somewhere … with an idea and an investment.  Where will tomorrow’s futures be invented? Welcome to future39. I’m John Koetsier, and today we’re speaking with former Apple executive and current venture capitalist Daniel Gross. Daniel says he wants to fund “moonshot ideas from hackers, side hustlers, builders, and tinkerers all over the world” What we talk about:  - What are the biggest problems in the world today?  - Are solutions to those problems getting funded by VCs?  - Today’s “big tech” includes Facebook in social, Google in search, Apple in devices, Amazon in retail, Microsoft in productivity. (And much more, of course, in each case.) Where do you see the big companies of 10-20 years? What are they doing?  - The keys to scaling innovation are largely held by VCs with deep pocketbooks. Do you see that changing?  - Innovation clusters like Silicon Valley have led the past few technological revolutions. Will tomorrow be different?  - What is the future of the company? Do you see its organization/composition/location changing over the next decade?