Future Today #078 - Gen Z. Metaverse. Technofeudalism. Stanford. Ethical AI

Welcome to Future Today!?A newsletter for those curious about social innovation, disruptive technologies and futures studies. In it I share weekly articles, reports and interesting links, and recommendations of books, movies, series, events and courses.

?? Do you know that I have published a book? In?“Upgrade: desarrolla tu perfil a prueba de futuro”?(only in spanish for now), together with?Mónica Quintana, we talk about the skills that any professional should develop thinking about the future. You can buy it in any online or physical bookstore or?on the publisher's website.

?? What If the Metaverse Is Better Without Virtual Reality? During the keynote of Meta Connect, the company’s annual event for VR developers, Zuckerberg gave people a glimpse of what Meta calls “the future of meetings.” It's a shared space called a “Magic Room,” which Meta says is intended to “make collaborators feel equally present in a shared space, no matter where they are or what tech they’re using.

?? Gen Z does not dream of labor. “I don’t have goals. I don’t have ambition. I only want to be attractive.” This apathetic declaration is the start of a TikTok rant that went viral for its blatant message: to reject hard work and indulge in leisure. Thousands of young people have since remixed the sound on the app, providing commentary about their post-college plans, dream jobs, or ideal lifestyles as stay-at-home spouses.

?? The science behind “values”: Applying moral foundations theory to strategic foresight. “Values” play an oversized role in strategic foresight: they help define scanning frameworks, direct scanning efforts, inform change driver and scenario development, and underpin change within various systems and domains (e.g., politics, society, etc.). And yet, values are largely understudied within foresight.?

?? 50 years of technology transfer at Stanford. The article analyzes 4,512 inventions (yes, yes, you read that right: a huge number) arising from Stanford University research, in the 50 years from 1970 to 2020, all managed by its technology transfer unit, the Office of Technology Licensing (OTL).?

?? Ethical AI Team Says Bias Bounties Can More Quickly Expose Algorithmic Flaws. Bias in AI systems is proving to be a major stumbling block in efforts to more broadly integrate the technology into our society. A new initiative that will reward researchers for finding any prejudices in AI systems could help solve the problem.

Recommended book: The Future: A Very Short Introduction (2017) -?Jennifer M. Gidley???// Recommended film: Children of Men (2006) - Alfonso Cuarón?

?? Are We Living Under ‘Technofeudalism’? Imagine a near future in which Amazon begins bidding for municipal sanitation and sewage contracts. The company has developed sensor-ridden trash cans, trucks, and pipes, such that it can generate valuable data from society’s waste. Localities race to embrace these new utilities and their associated cost savings.?

?? The weird way language affects our sense of time and space. If you were asked to walk diagonally across a field, would you know what to do? Or what if you were offered ￡20 ($23) today or double that amount in a month, would you be willing to wait? These might seem like simple questions, but remarkably, your answers to these questions are likely to be influenced by the language, or languages, you speak.

?? New treatment turns cancer genes into “eat me” signs for immune system. If our immune system could easily detect cancer cells, it could supercharge new treatments for the disease. What if a drug could cause cancer cells to reveal themselves to the immune system, which could then target and kill them?

?? Disinformation, Postreality and the Midterms. New technologies play a powerful role in elections. Information—accurate or not—travels faster than ever, across channels that are only partially understood. Bad actors use these capabilities to sow division and confusion, but the bigger picture is messier and more complex.

?? Healthy Cities in the 21st Century: Towards the Active City. Sedentary lifestyles are a global and complex problem that, nevertheless, finds its solution in a very natural issue: movement. But its promotion requires individual, social and, particularly, environmental efforts. This is how the Active City arises, which promotes the construction of healthier and more livable cities.

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???Read the newsletter in Spanish