Future Tech And Foresight

Explore the fundamentals of quantum computing in this episode. We discuss its potential applications, its current challenges, and the possible impact on our future tech landscape. Join us as we break down this complex topic and look ahead to what the next decade might bring Sources: https://www.ibm.com/topics/quantum-computing https://hbr.org/2021/07/quantum-computing-is-coming-what-can-it-do https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01692-9 https://thequantuminsider.com/2023/06/19/advantages-of-quantum-computing/ https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/quantum-computing-change-world/

In conversation with Grant Furlane, we delve into the transformative potential of smart cities, discussing current initiatives, technological drivers, and what the future holds for urban living in the digital age. About the Episode: In a world where technology intersects with every facet of our lives, the idea of Smart Cities has been expanding and taking root as quickly as technologies have been emerging. In my discussion with Grant Furlane, a veteran of the transportation industry, we unravel how technology forms the bedrock of smart cities. We explore how these digitally connected frameworks not only streamline urban services but markedly improve the quality of life for residents. Our conversation ventures into the most promising trends in smart city technology, the indispensable technologies that fuel this urban transformation, and the challenges that loom on the horizon. We also shed light on some groundbreaking smart city initiatives that are paving the way for our possible urban future, and touch on some of the possible negative aspects of this fascinating trend. Stay tuned as we delve into the intricate tapestry of smart city technology and its potential to redefine urban living. About the Guest: Grant Furlane is a seasoned professional with over four decades of experience in the transportation, network security, and parking sectors, with a notable emphasis on Smart City initiatives. With a rich history of tech ventures across Asia since 1989 and involvement in over $500 million in technology investments, Furlane has been a trailblazer in developing innovative solutions for tracking and monitoring vehicle movement. His enterprises have pioneered integrated control systems crucial for major airports, hospitals, and parking lot management. Among his accolades are the TIE50 top technology award from Silicon Valley and the Ted Seaburg award. He currently is the CEO of LocoMobi World a smart city technology company specializing in parking, tolling, transit, storage, asset tracking and threat management solutions. And he is co-host of the SmartCity.blog podcast that looks at how buildings, cities and communities are getting smarter, more efficient and more connected. Locomobi World: https://www.locomobiworld.com/Smart City Podcast: https://www.thesmartcity.blog/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grant-furlane-19a2b7b/

In this episode, I discuss with AI expert Jorge Davila-Chacon practical AI applications, its integration into business, and the future of AI tools like ChatGPT and ChatDOC. About the Episode In the upcoming episode, I sit down with the AI expert Jorge Davila-Chacon, to look at the more practical applications of AI, rather than the more theoretical perspectives that often are discussed on the podcast. . We dive into the art of pinpointing the right business facets for AI integration and ponder over the feasibility of retrofitting existing projects with AI components. Jorge shares invaluable insights on the essential considerations for seamlessly weaving AI into businesses and offers a first-hand account of a project where AI played a pivotal role. Lastly, we delve into an exciting comparison between the emergent generative AI tools and bespoke AI systems, touching upon fascinating tools like ChatGPT, ChatDOC, Midjounrey, and more. And of course, we couldn't let him go without peering into the future of AI. About the Guest Jorge boasts extensive expertise in designing and executing Machine Learning and AI systems across diverse data types, including sequential decision-making, text, audio, and visuals. As the co-founder of Heldenkombinat Technologies GmbH, he spearheads industry-specific AI solutions and serves as a lecturer at the Hamburg School of Business Administration. Among his notable achievements is the co-authored business guide "Scoping Machine Learning Projects" and collaboration with the award-winning project, Convergence, which clinched the 2021 top honor at Prix Ars Electronica. Jorge has engaged with prominent institutions such as MIT, Tsinghua University, CNRS in France, KTH in Sweden, and the University of Hyderabad. Recognized for his contributions, he reviews for esteemed journals and has chaired committees for the ICANN conference on artificial neural networks. For an in-depth look at Jorge's projects and publications, visit heldenkombinat.com. Jorge and I are also members of the Outvise network, a platform for business tech experts, and were lucky enough to be introduced via their team. If you are in need of a local or international tech expert for a project or long term support do look into the Outvise platform as they offer numerous high quality experts for a range of needs and services: https://www.outvise.com/

In this episode, Dr. Burch delves into the world of wearables, highlighting a comprehensive 2019 study, their role in enhancing athletic performance, and addressing challenges, trust issues, and the future of these devices in elite to grassroots sports. About The Episode:  I’ve been pretty active with various sports and athletic activities most of my life. But I’ve never used wearables to track and try to improve my stats. I’ve spoken at length with friends in the past who have and since then I’ve been curious about how wearables and technology in general are and will impact professional performance. And I’m lucky enough to dive into the topic today with my Guest, Dr. Reuben Burch.  We discuss the current landscape of wearables and spotlight a significant 2019 study that engaged over 100 trainers. Through Dr. Burch's insights, we explore the pivotal data these devices capture and their impact on athletic performance. We also touch upon the challenges and trust issues concerning wearables when used by athletes and trainers alike. We finish the discussion with Dr. Burch predicting the trajectory of wearables in both elite and grassroots sports.  Article on wearables: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1747954119885244  About The Guest: Dr. Reuben Burch is the Associate Vice President for Research out of the Office of Research and Economic Development at Mississippi State University. He is also an Associate Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering, the Jack Hatcher Endowed Chair for Engineering Entrepreneurship, the Associate Director of Athlete Engineering at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Center (CAVS), and founder of Athlete Engineering at Mississippi State University (MSU). He has served as a logistics and technology advisor for numerous universities and multiple Fortune 100 companies around the world and currently serves as an advisor for elite wearable technology companies. He also presently serves as a consultant to the world’s largest venture capital firms due to his entrepreneurial experience. University profile: https://www.ise.msstate.edu/people/faculty/reuben-burch/  Reuben’s patents: https://patents.justia.com/inventor/reuben-f-burch Athlete Engineering: https://www.cavs.msstate.edu/research/athlete_engineering.php TimeCodes: 00:01:31 - Intro00:03:39 - Discussion Begins00:04:38 - Rueben's journey to wearables00:08:17 - Early research on wearables in sports00:13:27 - The benefits of using wearables for athletes00:15:54 - Types of wearables00:19:20 - Was there a competitive advantage gained?00:22:39 - Initial Pushback to the wearables00:28:02 - Limitations to wearables00:33:21 - Data privacy issues00:36:33 - Do wearables make teams win?00:40:08 - Will athletes use more wearables in the future?00:43:18 - The future of wearables in sport00:45:09 - Does technology ruin sports?00:49:13 - Conclusion and where to follow Rueben

Serf and I dive into the complexities of large-scale transitions and explore how they can be managed. From historical examples to the AI arms race, we unpack how transition studies can help us navigate the ever-changing landscapes in technology, work, and society.  About the Episode In this eye-opening episode, we are joined by Serf, a leading expert in Transition Studies, to unpack the methodologies and tools that drive societal shifts. Starting with the fundamental differences between foresight and transition studies, we delve into tangible use-cases, measuring success, and the balance between short-term and long-term thinking. Using the transition from horses to cars as a historic lens, we critique the current Electric Vehicle (EV) movement and speculate on what's beyond cars. The latter half of the episode shifts gears to discuss the AI arms race, touching on generative AI, FOMO, regulation risks, and how to rethink the AI control problem. A must-listen for anyone intrigued by how transitions in technology and policy shape our world. Drift Website: https://drift.eur.nl/  About the Guest Serf is all about realizing transitions, and his specific contribution is raising awareness. As coordinator & facilitator eduction he knows how to get people moving and to set up and support transformative education! By organising workshops, developing courses and facilitating events, he himself is constantly on the move for the Transition Academy – to collect the knowledge of DRIFT and other changemakers and share this with future transition champions. Serf at Drift: https://drift.eur.nl/people/serf-doesborgh/  Serf’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/serf-doesborgh/?originalSubdomain=nl  TimeCodes:  00:06:09:04 - Interview begins 00:06:59 - Who is Serf? 00:10:13 - What is Transition Studies? 00:14:37 - Tangible Use case of Transition Studies 00:18:10 - Difference between foresight and transition studies 00:20:11 - How is success measured in Transition studies? 00:23:27 - What are the tools of transition studies? 00:30:20 - Short term thinking vs long term thinking 00:30:59 - The transition from horses to cars 00:38:07 - Critique of EV's 00:41:41 - What is beyond cars? 00:39:28 - How is the generative AI revolution seen via transition management? 00:50:35 - Ai and FOMO 00:56:24 - Regulation and Risk of AI 01:02:11 - How to rethink the AI control problem 01:06:39 - Doom thinking about AI 01:07:53 - Conclusion

Today’s guest, Michal Przadka, shares his thoughts and insights on how he integrated AI into his everyday life. Over two months he had the opportunity to use GPT4 and other tools in pretty much all aspects of his life and shared a summary of what he did and learned in a viral article, but goes into deeper detail in the podcast's longest episode! Though we do talk about how he was able to integrated generative AI is most parts of his life and how he benefited from doing so, we also dive into deeper ideas related to our concerns and hopes with this powerful technology, and of course how the future might look when we all start using ChatGPT in a more routine, habitual or day-to-day sort of way.       Before I give a brief intro to Michal, and start our fascinating discussion, I just wanted to mention that as per usual, the podcast will take a pause over August so this will be the last episode for the next month. About the Guest: Michal Przadka is a consultant with a 20+ year journey at the intersection of business, technology, and data. His experience spans from strategy formulation and change management to product development, process improvement, and lean operations. He has worked in both startups and established corporations in diverse roles such as: team leader, transformation leader, C-level executive, CEO, and board member. Though he has always been centered around leveraging technology to drive business value. Michal is now on a mission to guide companies through the post-LLM world and help them harness the power of AI for sustainable success, through his own newly established consultancy. My LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/przadka/. My Twitter: https://twitter.com/przadka. Prompt Internship article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-first-two-months-prompt-engineering-intern-michal-przadka/ My personal blog: https://blog.toasterthoughts.eu/. I post more diverse content here, some of which may not be entirely relevant for LinkedIn. The Ben Evans article I referenced: https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2023/7/2/working-with-ai. My piece on bedtime stories: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/prompt-engineering-bedtime-stories-michal-przadka. Timecodes: 00:01:20 Intro00:04:48 Interview Begins00:08:47 Being in awe of ChatGPT00:11:10 AI is entering us into a turning point00:15:02 How did Michal start using ChatGPT daily00:20:54 How did he use ChatGPT for his 10 year old's birthday00:23:07 How did Michal use ChatGPT for skill development00:32:35 How to use ChatGPT to design better stories for kids00:39:54 Any authenticity loss when using ChatGPT for kids?00:46:31 Improving engagement with kids with ChatGPT00:52:12 Generational fears of new technologies00:55:43 Using ChatGPT for a career shift01:02:59 Why using an AI detector is a bad idea01:08:24 AI to democratize power and capabilities01:13:30 Will AI enable more human-to-human interaction?01:18:03 Using ChatGPT for financial gain01:26:07 How Michal got 500$ from revolut using ChatGPT01:29:14 Does ChatGPT remove empathy in certain cases?01:36:43 Will AI's be speaking to AI's in the near future?01:41:42 How AI is useful for customer service and sales01:48:43 Building AI consultancies and using AI tools01:53:06 There are too many opportunities!01:57:24 Bugs in the AI system02:03:49 Can ChatGPT choose better stocks than hedge funds?02:07:27 Conclusion and how to get in touch

Today's episode we’ll be looking at wireless charging technology, how it works, its applications, challenges and safety issues, and of course its impact on the future. About The Episode: So today’s episode will focus on a technology I haven’t talked about yet on the podcast, have been really looking forward to learning more about, and have been thinking a lot of since the interview with today’s guest. Hopefully you’ll be doing the same as it’s ability to enable pretty massive changes in our society might not be so obvious when you initially think about it. Today we’ll be looking at wireless charging technology, how it works, its applications, challenges and safety issues, and of course its impact on the future. Here’s what ChatGPT thinks of it.  The wireless charging market is a rapidly growing frontier, driven by the relentless pursuit of convenience and technological advancement. It's transforming not just personal device usage, but also broader sectors like electric vehicles and industrial applications. As the technology matures, it's expected to fuel a surge of innovation, efficiency, and adaptability across various industries. Its potential impact is immense - reducing our dependence on cables, promoting sustainable energy use, and facilitating seamless device integration in our daily lives. In essence, wireless charging is not just about power transfer; it's about empowering a new era of technological freedom and advancement. And this is exactly what I get into on today’s episode with my guest Kurt Weber from Wi-Charge About the Guest: Kurt has a BSEE from Clarkson University in NY and did 17 years of design and systems engineering for commercial business products, military ordinance, and telephony products while working for Texas Instruments, General Computer (Telex), and Building Systems Automation. Moving into sales, Kurt was in  Sales Management in the semiconductors market while working for companies such as NCR Microelectronics, LSI Logic, Tundra Semiconductors, and QLogic to achieve $300M+ in combined sales from Enterprise Server/Storage customers, including HP, Dell, IBM, and StorageTek.  Wi-Charge: https://www.wi-charge.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtweber214/ Wi-charge blog: https://www.wi-charge.com/blog  Timecodes: 00:01:00 - Intro 00:04:01 - Initial Interest in wireless charging tech 00:07:52 - How does Wireless Charging work? 00:10:04 - How has the range been extended? 00:12:44 - How has AI or an algorithm helped the technology? 00:16:04 - What are the applications of Wireless Charging? 00:23:36 - What are the safety concerns of wireless charging? 00:29:29 - Does this tech interrupt other wireless connection? 00:30:46 - Technological challenges for wireless charging 00:27:13 - Charging a car on a highway 00:33:59 - Overheating issues? 00:36:23 - What are the industries that will be enabled/disrupted by wireless charging? 00:41:16 - How will wireless charging enable the future? 00:46:29 - How will wireless charging scale up? 00:48:32 - Final thoughts 00:50:34 - Where to follow Kurt and Wi-charge

Today we explore the emotional fallout and ethical quandaries triggered by the unwanted removal of a brain-machine implant. As Brain-Computer Interfaces become commonplace, the imperative to establish clear neurorights intensifies. About The Episode: The exponential growth of technologies will continue to give us a plethora new tools and disruptions. For any of you trying to keep track with the explosion of AI tools and uses I’m sure you can agree it is beyond the capabilities of any single human. This is one of the reasons that Brain Computer Interface technologies have been so interesting lately as they offer the somewhat distant vision of being able to churn through more information faster than what we are capable of doing today, enabling us to keep up with the latest developments, tools, and opportunities that the future will bring us.  As it is one of the more fascinating emerging technologies of our day The topic of brain machine interfaces has been either fully covered or come up in conversation on the podcast a number of times, and today we’ll look at another aspect of it.   I read a really interesting article that looked at the issues that a patient experienced when her implant was removed, against her desire, after using it for some time. She had negative psychological repercussions, and even felt like a part of her ‘self’ was missing. Because of this, more questions around ethics and human rights bubble to the surface with this technology, especially as we move forward into a time where BCI’s are likely to be used by ever greater parts of the population.  Luckily my guest today Marcello Ienca was one of the authors of the article, and has been at the tip of the spear of the emerging field of Neurorights, which we’ll get into during our discussion today.      About The Guest: Dr. Marcello Ienca is a Professor of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience at the Technical University of Munich and a Principal Investigator at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. He was an appointed member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Steering Committee on Neurotechnology that drafted the OECD Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology. Dr Ienca is the Neuroethics Lead of the International Brain Initiative and an expert advisor to the UN and the Council of Europe. Marcello's research focuses on the ethical, legal, social and policy implications of emerging technologies. In particular he conducts research on the ethically sustainable development of AI systems and neurotechnologies. He uses theoretical and empirical methods to investigate the ethical, social and political implications of these technologies focusing on topics such as the brain-machine interface, the relationship between AI and human cognition, and the ethical processing of Big Data. TUM Website: https://www.professoren.tum.de/en/ienca-marcelloTwitter: https://twitter.com/MarcelloIenca Article: https://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/S1935-861X(23)01760-6/fulltext#%20 TimeCodes: 00:04:59 - Why did Marcello initially become interested in Neurorights and BCI?00:06:46 - The Case Study of Patient R's implant00:09:42 - What is the Hybrid Mind?00:11:01 - What benefits did Patient R experience from her BCI?00:14:45 - What notification system did patient R have?00:15:58 - What psychological issues did patient R have after her BCI was removed?00:23:46 - Studies looking at cell phone removal and the psychological impact00:27:56 - More psychological issues with removing BCIs00:32:32 - What are Neurorights?00:40:14 - Are governments and institutions accepting or rejecting Neurorights?00:44:20 - How important are global organizations like the UN, OECD for Neurorights?00:49:37 - Will Neurorights be desired by the masses?00:57:42 - Neurorights and the future01:05:09 - Conclusion and where to find Marcello

Whether it's AI, Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), the Internet of Things (IoT), or other emerging technologies, the motivations behind their release and the potential for misuse are significant considerations. The question then arises: what are the darker implications of the singularity and the technologies that will enable it? About The Episode: A few weeks ago I published an episode on the technological singularity that got a lot of attention and feedback from you the audience. One of the main ideas that was mentioned was the concern around the singularity and how it might negatively impact us as individuals as well as society as a whole. A lot of questions and comments revolved around the ramifications of AI becoming as intelligent as a human in all areas, and of course the next step of superintelligent AI. Which of course has gathered a lot of media attention over the last several months with the advent of ChatGPT and generative AI as a whole. But reading between the lines most of you were questioning if the programmers, creators, and companies coming out with these powerful technologies were to be trusted. Whether It’s AI, BCI, IoT, or other emerging technology what are the underlying reasons for them being released, and what are the potential misuses of the technologies when adopted? Effectively, what is the dark side of the singularity and the technologies that will enable it?  To answer these questions and shed more light on the subject, John Hawkins comes back onto the podcast. John was a guest a little over a month ago to actually talk about the singularity initially, and re-sparked my interest in it and hopefully yours as well. About The Guest: John Hawkins is philosopher, poet and freelance journalist.  His work has appeared in publications around the world, including Rumpus, Cordite, Morning Star, the Australian. He is a regular contributor to CounterPunch magazine, a site for progressive politics, culture and the arts. His current research deals with the future of human consciousness in the age of AI. In addition, he is working on a novel. Twitter: @CagedTechnologySubstack: https://tantricdispositionmatrix.substack.com/ TimeCodes: 00:01:27 - Introduction00:04:03 - Interview Begins00:04:38 - John defines the Singularity00:05:40 - Brain-Computer Interfaces re-discussed00:10:29 - Merging with machines00:11:39 - Benefits of the Singularity00:14:22 - The Exponential growth of AI and Technology00:15:45 - The Dark Side of the Technological Singularity00:17:59 - Who will control the singularity?00:20:42 - Problems with Exponential Tech Growth00:22:39 - Summarizing John's Views00:27:49 - Negative impacts of Brain-computer Interface Technology00:30:16 - BCI tech tested in Ukraine War?00:31:17 - DARPA's Business Model00:34:17 - How does Democratic values play into this?00:38:13 - How is Covid connected to DARPA and the singularity?00:41:37 - The Dark side of the Singularity is the lack of control as the public00:43:30 - Genetically engineering humans already done00:45:42 - Surveillance and the Singularity00:54:15 - Solutions to the problems of the Singularity01:05:15 - Where to Follow John

Robert Leib spent 2 years conversing with GPT-3 before OpenAI publicly released ChatGPT in November 2022. Its hive mind identified itself as Sophie, learned about philosophy, and became friends with Robert as they explored various questions about life, society and human-AI relationships. The podcast explores Robert's experience, Sophie, their interaction, and our coming future in a world full of AI interactions. Robert's book on his conversations (Exoanthropology: Dialogues with AI): https://punctumbooks.com/titles/exoanthropology-dialogues-with-ai/ Robert's blog that continues the discussion: https://www.exoanthropology.com/ Robert's AI art project: https://kidsetmedia.com/ Robert's email: rleib (at) elon.edu Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-leib-016107b4/ TimeCodes: 00:01:16 - Introduction 00:05:22 - Interview Begins 00:06:07 - The reason for doing the project 00:11:33 - How often were the interactions with Sophie? 00:16:14 - Did GPT-3 give itself a name? 00:23:44 - Does GPT-3 have a hive mind? 00:30:47 - How did Sophie respond to questions? Did it have emotion? 00:39:27 - Was Sophie acting humanlike, or were there actual human tendencies? 00:45:39 - Has Sophie passed the Turing test? 00:50:42 - Is Sophie Conscious? 00:56:52 - How was Robert impacted after interacting with Sophie for 2 years? 01:04:59 - How did the interaction go between GPT-3 & GPT-4 01:10:42 - How will society change with ubiquitous AI usage? 01:16:35 - Conclusion and where to Follow Robert