Architect Liam Young shares his thoughts on how science fiction can be a powerful tool for prototyping new possibilities, why problems like climate change urgently need planetary-scale solutions, and how speculative design can inspire meaningful cultural transformation.

Liam Young is a designer, director, and BAFTA-nominated producer who operates in the spaces between design, fiction, and futures. Described by the BBC as ‘the man designing our futures’, his visionary films and speculative worlds are both extraordinary images of tomorrow and urgent examinations of the environmental questions facing us today. As a world-builder, he visualises the cities, spaces, and props of our imaginary futures for the film and television industry. His own films have premiered with platforms ranging from Channel 4, Apple+, SxSW, Tribeca, the New York Metropolitan Museum, The Royal Academy, Venice Biennale, the BBC, and The Guardian.

Bonus episode recorded live from the Dubai Future Forum at the Museum of the Future in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation on 20 November 2024.

Full-Video Version: https://youtu.be/gGyALHTnxk8

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

In Partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

Earth Species Project’s Jane Lawton shares her insights on how artificial intelligence is used to decode animal communication, how new technology challenges human-centric views of intelligence, and how the ‘voices’ of other species can inform conservation efforts and influence rights-for-nature debates.

Jane Lawton has over 30 years of international experience working with leading organisations focused on sustainable development and nature conservation. Throughout her career, she has explored various pathways to solve the complex puzzle of living sustainably on Earth. She has held senior roles in Asia, Europe, and North America, working with organisations such as Forum for the Future, The B Team, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada. She is currently Director of Impact at the Earth Species Project, a non-profit focused on using AI to decode animal communication with the ultimate goal of transforming how humans relate to the rest of nature.

Dubai Future Forum at the Museum of the Future in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation on 20 November 2024.

Full-Video Version: https://youtu.be/TU1N8ObMR6g

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

In Partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

Philosopher Koert van Mensvoort shares his insights into humanity’s ever-evolving relationship with nature, how integrating technology and biology can support ecology, and the possibility of becoming an interplanetary species.

Koert van Mensvoort is an artist and philosopher best known for his work on the philosophical concept of Next Nature, which revolves around the idea that our technological environment has become so complex, omnipresent, and autonomous that it is best perceived as a nature of its own. He is the Director of the Next Nature Network. Koert aims to better understand our co-evolutionary relationship with technology and to help set a track towards a future that is rewarding for both humankind and the planet.

Bonus episode recorded live from the Dubai Future Forum at the Museum of the Future in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation on 20 November 2024.

Full-Video Version: https://youtu.be/4dHD_QIWGSM

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

In Partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

Young Change Advocate Adam El Rafey shares his thoughts on why ability, not age, should determine opportunity, how to reimagine education towards problem-based learning, and how the adaptability of the younger generation will prepare them for an increasingly uncertain future.

Adam El Rafey is a 14-year-old change advocate, public speaker, and innovator. He is a learning enthusiast passionate about urban planning and transport, reforming education, breaking down barriers, and inspiring others to follow their curiosities and find their voices at any age. He is the youngest university student in the UAE at the University of Wollongong in Dubai and is in Year 10 in school. He was named one of the Future Top 25 Under 25 Global Changemakers by the Future Minds Network at age 11, and is one of the youngest TEDx Speakers in the world.

Bonus episode recorded live from the Dubai Future Forum at the Museum of the Future in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation on 20 November 2024.

Full-Video Version: https://youtu.be/1k-TEgiUQrg

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

In Partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

MIT Media Lab’s Prof. Pattie Maes shares her insights on using technology to enhance human potential and agency, developing wearable systems to support cognition and learning, and designing ethical human-centred artificial intelligence.

Prof. Pattie Maes is the Germeshausen Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab. With a background in Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction, her research focuses on human augmentation and how wearable, immersive, and brain-computer systems may assist people with memory, decision-making, and other functions. Netguru selected her for "Hidden Heroes: The People Who Shaped Technology"; Time Magazine included several of her designs in its annual list of inventions of the year; Fast Company named her one of the 50 most influential designers, and the World Economic Forum named her a "Global Leader for Tomorrow."

Bonus episode recorded live from the Dubai Future Forum at the Museum of the Future in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation on 20 November 2024.

Full-Video Version: https://youtu.be/gJWeHDlDOLk

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

In Partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

Conceptual Artist Pierre-Christophe Gam shares his thoughts on the transformative power of imagination to shape reality, the potential of the African continent to become a global leader, and how to dream futures that reflect our individual aspirations and collective desires.

Pierre-Christophe Gam is a French-born conceptual artist whose contemporary multimedia installations investigate the future through myths, technology, and dreams. Trained as an interior architect at ENSAD in Paris and CSM in London, he founded TOGUNA WORLD, a digital-native research laboratory that merges art, design, and foresight to decolonise conversations about the future and amplify diverse voices from the Global South. A fellow at the MIT Open Doc Lab, his work has been exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Vitra Design Museum, the Addis FotoFest, and the Unseen Photo Festival.

Bonus episode recorded live from the Dubai Future Forum at the Museum of the Future in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation on 19 November 2024.

Full-Video Version: https://youtu.be/zmQj-tSf52U

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

In Partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

Founder & CEO of OpenBCI Conor Russomanno shares his thoughts on what neurotechnology can teach us about being human, the ethical challenges of designing devices to measure brain activity, and the advantages of open-source brain-computer interfaces.

Conor Russomanno is the founder and CEO of OpenBCI, a company working to build ethical brain-computer interfaces. He became fascinated with the relationship between the human brain and mind after suffering concussions playing college football and rugby. While pursuing an MFA in Design & Technology at Parsons School of Design, he spent two years creating DIY brain-sensing headsets and neuro-interactive games, animations and stories. In 2013, he began work on what would later become OpenBCI, which has since designed and distributed more than 40,000 tools for neuroscience to more than 100 countries around the world. One of Russomanno's leading innovations is the award-winning Galea headset, a hardware and software platform that merges next-generation biometrics with mixed reality.

Russomanno's work has been featured in media outlets such as Bloomberg, Scientific American and Wired. He was recognized in the Forbes "30 Under 30" in 2018 and has served as an adjunct professor and research affiliate at Parsons, NYU and MIT.

Bonus episode recorded in-person at The Royal Society Neural Interfaces Summit in September 2023.

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

Senior Research Fellows Dr. Eleanor Drage and Dr. Kerry McInerney share their insights on how artificial intelligence will impact society, using a feminist lens to rethink innovation and the importance of language in shaping our understanding of ‘good’ technology.

Dr Eleanor Drage is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for the Future of Intelligence. She teaches AI Professionals about AI ethics at Cambridge and presents widely on the topic. She specialises in using feminist ideas to make AI better and safer for everyone. She is currently building the world's first free and open access tool that helps companies meet the EU AI act's obligations. Eleanor is also an expert on women writers of speculative and science fiction from 1666 to the present - An Experience of the Impossible: The Planetary Humanism of European Women’s Science Fiction.

Dr Kerry McInerney (née Mackereth) is a Senior Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, where she co-leads a project on how AI is impacting international relations. Aside from The Good Robot, Kerry is the co-editor of the collection Feminist AI: Critical Perspectives on Algorithms, Data, and Intelligent Machines (2023, Oxford University Press) and the co-author of the forthcoming book Reprogram: Why Big Tech is Broken and How Feminism Can Fix It (2026, Princeton University Press).

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience for an event in partnership with SPACE4.

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net