The DeepFake tech behind David Beckham’s viral malaria campaign explained
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF #DeepFakes can be used for both benign and evil purposes, but in this latest campaign a #UK company used it to help a #malaria #charity for good Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. The recent global campaign showing...
Featured Futurist: Samsung KX50, The Future in Focus
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Predicting the future, let alone the deep future, is very difficult but that doesn’t stop people from trying, so sit back and enjoy the vision of 2069 bought by yours truly and Samsung as they celebrate their 50th anniversary and prepare for the next 50...
University nabs multi-million pound to create next gen reconfigurable electronics
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When electronic systems are manufactured today they’re fixed forever, but in the future they’ll be able to re-configure themselves opening up millions of new use cases. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More and connect with Matthew. The University of Southampton in the...
Fully autonomous raspberry picking robot successfully completes field trials
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Fully automated farms aren’t far off, but one of the biggest problems so far has been harvesting soft fruits, and this new robot brings automation a step closer. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. Robots aren’t dexterous at all...
Revolutionary air breathing rocket engine gets green light for tests
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Rockets are traditionally fuelled using LOX which is expensive, toxic, and prone to blowing up, but now the world’s first air breathing rocket engine is ready for tests. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. The world of supersonic and...
“Unblinking Eye” pre-crime tech gets investment boost from UK government
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the pace of terrorism accelerates agencies around the world are trying to find the needles in the data haystack that can help them predict attacks before they happen. In the movie Fast and the Furious 7 movie a secretive US government agency created...
AI and automation: The benefits for business and industry
On 4 August 1997, Skynet, a US military developed program, became self-aware and began to think for itself. Operators tried to deactivate the computer system but the now ‘intelligent’ system perceived this as a threat and in order to protect its mandate of ‘safeguarding the world’ Skynet launched a nuclear...
Codex of the Future: eXponential Technology Edition 2020 to 2070
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The emergence of hundreds of powerful exponential technologies is accelerating the rate of global cultural, industrial, and societal change, this first of a kind Codex is your guide to understanding, simplifying, and navigating it all. eXplore the Codex ONLINE or DOWNLOAD it THIS...
All new UK homes will be off the gas grid by 2025 says UK government
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As countries try to hit their emissions targets fossil fuels are under fire, now the UK government is calling time on domestic gas supplies. Connecting new homes to the UK’s gas grid could be banned after 2025 as the UK government, just like many...
A decade after the first person was cured of HIV, another is in remission
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The HIV and AIDS epidemics have claimed the lives of millions of people, and now there may be a cure, but there’s a big catch. News has emerged from the UK that a man has been in remission from HIV for a year and...
World first as Google DeepMind’s AI crushes the world’s top Starcraft players
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Starcraft is a game of strategy, and as a result DeepMind’s AI had to learn an entirely new type of game play in order to thrash its opponents. AI agents developed by Google’s DeepMind subsidiary have finally beaten human pros at Starcraft II — a first...
Batteries are passé as researchers use ambient sound to charge smartphones
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to use sound to charge our gadgets is a revolutionary idea, and it’s made possible thanks to advances in Nanomanufacturing. This could be the greatest power discovery for mobiles, ever. Apparently. So say researchers at Queen Mary University London (QMUL) in the...
Creative AI’s have learnt how to create their own video games
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF AI is getting increasingly capable at creating quality synthetic content, and that includes books, scripts, and worlds. Today we have AI’s building other AI’s and fake news stories, and AI’s that write their own code, and doing a better job of it than the...
Genetic engineering breakthrough turns chickens into egg laying medicine factories
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to produce drugs and medicines cheaply is important, and this breakthrough breaks grounds on all kinds of fronts. Ordinarily, when scientists want to produce proteins to use in medicine they have to use techniques that are costly and complex. Recently, however, in...
Scientists have created the blackest material ever, and it’s great for gaming
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There are certain situations, such as calibrating satellite systems, or in cinemas where nearly dark doesn’t cut it, Vantablack is the darkest material ever produced. Have you ever gotten up to use the restroom during a movie screening, then struggled to find your seat...
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...
World first as scientists use tractor beams to make objects dance
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Increasingly the things we think of as science fact are becoming reality, but tractor beams also have more practical applications, such as transforming healthcare and manufacturing. In addition to creating tractor beams like the ones straight out of Star Trek researchers have also been making more...
UK and Singapore set 2021 deadline to launch world’s first quantum communications cubesat
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Unlike traditional communications technologies quantum communications are unhackable, so countries are racing to deploy them. Highly secure global communication based on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a secure communications cryptographic protocol that’s based on the eerie phenomenon of quantum mechanics, could eventually be made possible...
Virgin Galactic soars into space and the record books with succesful test flight
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the costs of accessing space fall we’re seeing the start of a new era in tourism – space tourism. Late last Thursday a Virgin Galactic rocket plane blasted to the edge of space, capping off years of difficult testing to become the first US commercial...
Inside Google’s plan to make sure AI is safe
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As AI becomes more deeply embedded into our every day lives it is imperative that there are safeguards in place to make sure it’s safe. Making sure Artificial Intelligence (AI) does what we want and behaves in predictable ways will be crucial as the...
