Gerd Leonhard | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Bio

Gerd’s passions are the future of humanity, culture, society, and business in the face of exponential technological progress.

In a world dominated by technology, data and algorithms, robots and intelligent machines, what will it mean to be human? Are humans and machines really destined to ‘converge’? What do we need to do, today, to make sure that human happiness and collective flourishing remain the most important objectives? Is our current economic system suitable for a future were technology is virtually unlimited?

In his keynotes, talks, presentations, and seminars, Gerd addresses topics such as digital ethics (the ethics of technology), artificial intelligence (AI), the future of work and jobs, rebooting education, the digital transformation of business and society, the future of politics, and many more, focusing on the next 5-10 years. Gerd’s latest, best-selling book is “Technology vs. Humanity”, now available in 10+ languages. http://www.techvshuman.com

Gerd is also a film-maker, you can view his videos on Vimeo https://vimeo.com/thefuturesagency and on Youtube http://www.gerdtube.com.

Current position (3)

Keynote Speaker, Futurist

Author, Humanist

CEO

The Futures Agency

Presentations

Presentations (11)

FROM TRANSFORMATION TO HUMANISATION

I think we have reached peak 'digital transformation' - if you haven't heard about why you and your business need to 'go digital' or 'transform into a digital organisation' you may have lived under a rock during the past 5 years:)

THE 10 MEGASHIFTS: TRANSFORMING YOUR ORGANISATION

If you believe 'digital transformation' is what it's all about, think again. I propose 9 other Megashifts that are the result of game-changing technological advances: Virtualisation, cognification, robotisation, automation, simulation...

TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY - DEFINING OUR FUTURE, TODAY

Sometimes it seems that technology is the only thing that will matter in the future. I beg to differ. Sure, data is the new oil and artificial intelligence maybe the new electricity, but this makes being human more important - not less.

10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE, TODAY

In this fast-paced and provocative talk, I cut right to the chase - only my
most important future observations make it into this presentation. Using
current examples, I hypothesise that the future is no longer a timeframe:
it’s a mindset.

THE FUTURE OF WORK

Automation is everywhere, already! Machines and smart software will likely automate-away between 40-60% of all repetitive or algorithm-based tasks, in the next 20 years. Abundance will result from machines doing most of the work...

EXPONENTIAL CHANGE: BUSINESS AND SOCIETY

Successful businesses always maintain a constant conversation about the future: what lessons need to be operationalized today in order to avoid future irrelevance or worse, extinction? It is essential to understand that everything...

HOW TO DO THE FUTURE, TODAY

The future is already here - we just haven’t paid enough attention to it. Science fiction is increasingly becoming science fact and we must
increasingly challenge our assumptions about what is possible. Futurize, now!

DIGITAL ETHICS / THE ETHICS OF TECHNOLOGY

Bertolt Brecht famously commented that humans tend to think 'dinner first, then morals'. I observe that we've had many amazing digital feasts already - now it’s time for Ethics and Humanity to top the menu.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE [AI] - THE NEXT 10 YEARS

Artificial Intelligence is a very confusing topic for many people, and one that has been greatly distorted in the media. I suggest to differ between IA (intelligent assistance), AI and AGI, and to look at the merits of each.

PRACTICAL WISDOM

Foresights and practical wisdom (Phronesis) is what I aspire to in my work. Practical wisdom is about a specific kind of knowledge, foresight and wisdom that ties directly into action and immediate human benefit. Aristotle had a few things to say about this...

UNDERSTANDING THE FUTURE: GAME-CHANGERS & MEGASHIFTS

In this brand-new talk I share my observations and foresights on three sectors: science & technology, business & society, and mindset & philosophy; customized for every specific...

Past talks (1)

all 2019 topics

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