Futurist Keynote, UAE: Futurism, Pandemics, and the Future of Knowledge, UNDP and MBRF
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF During this keynote session, in Arabic, speaker and futurist Matthew Griffin discusses the future of knowledge and insightful machines, how to spot and stop the next pandemic, and how to become a futurist. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself...
The UN IPCC’s climate report is “Code Red for humanity”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The Japanese have a saying: “We all live under one sky.” But increasingly as a result of human activity that sky, and the climate that goes with it, is changing our world. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with...
The future of power is transcontinental supergrids that connect the world’s energy supplies
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today if you generate electricity in one part of the world you can’t transport it to any other place in the world – supergrids are a paradigm shift. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote,...
For the first time the UN believes a hunter killer drone autonomously killed humans in battle
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We already have the technology to create fully autonomous weapons systems that can hunt and kill targets, as well as the ability to create fully autonomous kill chains, but this is the first example of one being used. Possibly. Love the Exponential Future? Join...
Humans suck at saving the planet so AI is coming to the rescue
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The United Nations has 17 Sustainable Development Goals, global problems that need global solutions, but so far progress has been slow so a new approach is needed. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my...
A new Virtual Government is helping the UN solve global inequality
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There are many inequalities in the world, but sometimes governments don’t know which investment or programs will make the biggest impact, now they have help. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. As we see all too clearly today...
First of a kind attack as criminals clone a CEO’s voice and con UK energy firm out of $243,000
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As AI’s get better at creating fake content, or synthetic content, this type of attack will be the start of a new worrying trend. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. After Google’s Duplex demonstration last year it’s clear...
BIG unveil Oceanix their floating city concept backed by the UN
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the Earth’s population grows, and as climate change threatens to displace hundreds of millions of people the UN are now seriously considering building floating cities. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. In the future it’s not just NASA...
Self-evolving killer robots are almost here, and experts want a debate
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Few realise just how fast we’re approaching the tipping point for autonomous warfare, but in a time when we can’t control, or even predict the evolution of AI and “Smart” systems the time for debate, arguably, was ten years ago. As it increasingly looks...
UN cancels crucial 2017 debate on autonomous warfare because Brazil owes it money
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Noone wants war, and arguably noone should want autonomous war where AI’s and robots make the decisions, but for the fifth year in a row the UN has cancelled it’s scheduled debate, over the funding of the meetings. Share your opinion, is this an...
The United Nations taps blockchain to solve world hunger
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Hundreds of millions of people go hungry every night, and after a succesful pilot the UN thinks that blockchain could help them solve world hunger. Earlier this week United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) announced that 10,000 individuals had taken advantage of its trial to deliver food to Syrian...
Devastating bioweapon or humanity’s saviour? UN green lights the ‘Gene Drive’
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The world’s most powerful genetic technology – one that could cure disease, and at the same time wipe out entire species in the blink of an eye – has just been green lighted by the UN, and now the genies about to come out of...
The UN is going to debate banning killer robots
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The increasing weaponisation and automation of new, advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones and robots has the UN worried, now it wants a debate about banning them before it’s too late. This week the UN announced that next year over 100 nations who are...
Photosynthesis breakthrough crams millions of years of plant evolution into months
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Scientists have used gene editing to turn off specific plant genes to boost plant growth by 15%, if transplanted into rice, maize and wheat this could help reduce famine and hunger in the world without the need to use extra fertilisers or chemicals. Scientists...
UN backs ID2020 blockchain consortium to give 2 billion people an identity
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The UN is backing a blockchain consortium to help them give a voice, and recognition, to over 2 billion people. According to the United Nations there are over 2 billion people who have no way of proving who they are. And while at first glance...
Scientists petition the UN to create a sovereign space nation
As humanity nears its goals of becoming an interplanetary species it’s inevitable one day that a new nation will take form In the wake of multiple announcements from private and public bodies alike about colonising the Moon and Mars, beginning in 2017, a team of scientists and legal experts have...
The United Nations is going into space
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The UN wants every country to be able to realise the benefits of space. The United Nations (UN) has announced its first ever official space mission, with the aim of giving developing countries the opportunity to conduct research in a microgravity environment. The mission,...
