New patent shows Microsoft wants to resurrect you as a chatbot
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF For the first time in human history we are nearing the point where we could digitally bring people back from the dead … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Life in lockdown...
Sony bets big on virtual concerts and launches a virtual star at CES 2021
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In the real world artists are constrained by lots of things, including the laws of nature, but virtual concerts make all that a thing of the past. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my...
Ultra powerful quantum computers could give chatbots and digital humans emotions
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Learning to talk, like chatbots do, is one thing, being able to understand and respond to human emotions is an entirely different skillset that needs huge computing power. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote,...
K-Pop’s newest band member will be a CGI generated digital human
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Everything you watch through a screen is just a collection of digital pixels, and as AI gets better at generating synthetic content real human performers could be less relevant … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from...
Two digital humans went on a date and it was awfully good
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF One day digital humans will be as life-like as real humans in the way they act, behave, and talk, this is one big step on that journey. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my...
Virtual star and singer Lil Miquela unveils her debut US single Not Mine
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In the future your little wanna be pop stars are going to have to compete with virtual stars … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. America could soon be getting a new...
Futurist Keynote: The Future of Work and Skills 2040, Aon
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The way we work and the way we tap into skills is changing, and tat impacts everything from how we educate our children and train our workforce, to how we build and operate companies. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote,...
Japan’s newest digital pop stars blur the line between virtual and reality
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As AI infused life-like digital humans and avatars get better and more capable they’re starting to sign their own pop deals and compete with real humans. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Recently I’ve been talking a lot...
Samsung unveil their incredibly life-like digital humans and creep people out
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It is inevitable that one day, in a couple of years, you won’t know if you are speaking to a real human or a digital human – and Samsung just upped the ante. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my...
Meet Lia, Soul Machine’s scarily lifelike digital human that reacts to your emotions
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As AI and avatars improve in time they’ll be better at understanding your emotions than your partner. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Have you ever dreamt of gazing into the eyes of a chatbot or avatar while...
Futurist Keynote, Paris: I, The Company of 2040, Accenture
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The companies and startups of the future will be very different from today’s, so during this keynote I dive into the rabbit hole. Firstly, thank you to the team at Accenture for inviting me to be their keynote speaker at the annual Accenture Technology...
A brain controlled exoskeleton just let a quadraplegic man walk again
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As brain machine interfaces improve it’s giving researchers the ability to build new revolutionary, life changing products. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. A little while ago a quadriplegic man learned how to drive a car, and now...
Futurist Keynote, London: Future of Superyacht Design, Superyacht News
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF New technologies are disrupting every sector, and the superyacht industry is no exception, but today’s disruptions give the incumbents a new opportunity to demonstrate thought leadership and change the industry’s narrative. Firstly, it was a pleasure and an honour to be invited, for the...
Today’s virtual bloggers and influencers are dumb, AI will change that
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As more researchers and companies experiment with creating life-life, interactive digital humans today’s bloggers and influencers could soon be replaced. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. One of Instagram’s hottest influencers is a fake 19 year old virtual...
Next generation virtual influencers will be indistinguishable from humans
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Social networks are awash with human influencers, but now some virtual influencers are making more money than their human counterparts. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. One of the most in demand influencers in the world today isn’t...
Nvidia creates the world’s first video game demo using AI generated graphics
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As AI becomes both the tool and the creator of graphics and content, you can expect to see much more of this in the future. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. The recent boom in Artificial Intelligence (AI)...
Edtech company Udacity uses deepfake tech to create educational videos automatically
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Most online educational courses are text and graphics based, but now Udacity is using deepfake tech to automatically generate educational videos from the content. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. Producing content for Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms...
Create Digital Humans in minutes, Soul Machines unveils Digital DNA platform
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Avatars that resemble real people, in their behaviours and speech, are on the rise, and some people are using them to create immortal versions of themselves. Soul Machines, the company behind some of the world’s most human-like digital avatars that are already in service...
Futurist Keynote, London: Investing in the Exponential Future, SRP European Conference
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Incredibly powerful, and increasingly democratised, emerging technologies are transforming every sector faster than ever, and this can have dire consequences for investors if the mechanisms behind the change are not understood. Firstly, thank you to Amelie for inviting me to be the keynote for...