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Future Visions

Will robots steal our jobs? How will shopping feel in virtual reality? Future Visions is a brand new podcast series from Virgin that explores the surreal world of tomorrow through the finest minds of today. With the help of scientists, experts and resp...


Latest episode

  • Future Visions live in London

     50:47
    Natalie Campbell hosts a live Future Visions panel discussion on Artificial Intelligence and the future of work from THECUBE London. Following on from the first series of Future Visions we asked you, the listeners, to tell us what you wanted us to focus on next. The number of responses we received was overwhelming, with the vast majority keen to understand how the rise of AI would impact our lives. To help us answer this question we invited three of the stars of the first series to share their thoughts; Araceli Camargo (cognitive neuroscientist, lab director at The Centric Lab and co-founder of TheCUBE London), Ben Hammersley (British internet technologist, journalist, author, broadcaster and futurist) and Tracey Follows (award-winning futurist and regular commentator on the future of AI, gender, work and culture).

More episodes

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  • Why predicting the future is a really bad idea

     29:40
    In the final episode of the series Natalie Campbell introduces Ben Hammersley – who prefers to think of his job as being about getting people super-up-to-date rather than jumping too far ahead. He discusses whether ‘presentism’ could actually be the key to finding the optimum state for innovation, and is joined by experts including serial entrepreneur and investor Joi Ito (Director of MIT’s Media Lab) and business strategist Margaret Heffernan (author of Beyond Measure: The Big Impact Of Small Changes).

  • Can we use AI to fight crime predictively?

     35:08
    Natalie Campbell introduces award-winning futurist Tracey Follows, who believes artificial intelligence could be a ruling force in the next 20 years. But in a world where automation is rife, can we trust algorithms to keep us safe and police our streets? To discuss the opportunity and the ethics, they are joined by data scientist Cathy O’Neil (Weapons of Math Destruction), cybercrime expert Emily Orton (Darktrace), and hacking guru Jennifer Arcuri (Hacker House).

  • Is the future female?

     33:03
    In this episode Natalie Campbell explores the future visions of Cindy Gallop - a former ad-consultant (BBH) turned sex-tech entrepreneur (MakeLoveNotPorn) - who believes "in order to predict the future you have to invent it”. Cindy envisions a future that thrives off diversity, where everyone has the same opportunities as straight white men - resulting in more creativity and disruption. But how can we undo years of inbuilt bias in the world around us? We hear from virtual reality specialist Catherine Allen, Nominet Trust director Vicki Hearn, #PocTech campaigner Deborah Okenla and start-up investor Jonathan Sposato to see how we can address the problem.

  • What will shopping feel like in virtual reality?

     32:29
    Natalie Campbell is joined by Blockchain founder Peter Smith, who explores how tech will change the way we shop. We hear from virtual reality expert Tracey Wiedmeyer (InContext Solutions), artificial intelligence specialist Romney Evans (True Fit) and hologram entrepreneur Ashley Crowder (VNTANA) who are all working towards making shopping experiences that are more fun, more convenient, and highly personalised. But is more choice really a better thing? And what are the new opportunities for business?

  • Are we heading towards a robotic doomsday?

     26:13
    Natalie Campbell explores the thoughts of Araceli Camargo – an entrepreneur and cognitive neuroscientist who believes artificial intelligence could spell a new chapter in human development. But are we heading towards utopia or something much more sinister? And how can we prepare for more imminent changes to the jobs market? We hear from robotics expert Nick Hawes, education specialist Professor Rose Luckin, and neo-luddite author Kirkpatrick Sale.

  • Could human hearts really come from a 3D printer?

     34:06
    Natalie Campbell explores the visions of acclaimed British Futurologist Dr James Bellini – who predicts augmented and virtual realities (VR) are going to radically change life in the next 20 years. But are the changes all positive, and what does this mean for business and how we’ll all work? We hear from VR specialist Daniel Cheetham (Head of Interactive at Happy Finish) and Dr Mehran Anvari – Founding Director of The McMaster Institute for Surgical Invention, Innovation and Education – about how these technologies are changing their fields. A Pixiu production for Virgin.
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