Episode 186 - Futurologist, Richard Watson has yet another pint with Seaniebee

A Pint With Seaniebee

Returning to the pod for the fourth time, our resident future-thinker, Richard Watson, arrives in fine fettle to guide us through the global mayhem that confronts us all at every turn these days. Richard is a thoughtful, questioning, truth seeking, self-obsessed, neurotic, contrarian writer that, due to luck more than anything else, has ended up being labelled a futurist (NB: correct term is futurologist). Most days he manages to make a good living telling people that everything will turn out OK despite the fact he’s not sure himself sometimes. He enjoys thinking about artificial intelligence and what (if anything) makes us human and especially likes drawing ‘maps’ that provoke conversation and debate. When he’s not doing all this, he can normally be found gardening, trying to book flights to Greece, drinking wine, arguing with his lawn mower, smoking cigars, or pulling dead mice out of his old sports car (they’re cute, but they eat the wiring, especially over winter). Oh yeah, and somehow, he has managed to get five books published and blagged his way into both the Technology Foresight Practice at Imperial College London and the Judge School at Cambridge. Not bad for someone that got a ‘B’ in English language O-level and failed maths twice. Go figure. Two of his best books are Digital Vs Human (2017), and Future Files (2007). Links & other interesting stuff: Buy books and explore the future at Richard’s website: www.nowandnext.com One of Richard’s time maps from 2020 - https://nowandnext.com/PDF/trends_and_technology_timeline_2010.pdf New York’s psychics admit it’s all a scam: https://tinyurl.com/ur3k9uyw Extraordinary interview with Elon Musk: https://tinyurl.com/3ndmyhb6 Michael Sandel - They Tyranny of Merit https://tinyurl.com/ykzf43kk Review of David Chalmers book on simulation: https://tinyurl.com/yckb983e Richard's previous appearances on a pint with Seaniebee: https://tinyurl.com/4azbkcw4 https://tinyurl.com/bdh93n9u https://tinyurl.com/4fwtyzvv Midjourney - the software that kills advertising: https://tinyurl.com/bpcnr3cr Idiocracy trailer: https://tinyurl.com/bdeky7w8 Daniel Pink - The Power of Regret: https://tinyurl.com/2mf5293m Release date: July 29th 2022 Runtime: 59m Recorded: Dublin/Wordsworth-land