The Future Show: Knowledge and Learning

The perceived value of data, basic information and fact-based human knowledge is becoming increasingly commoditised by the efficiency and sheer horse-power of digital technologies. Any Internet user can now look up, find out and tap into almost any information, anywhere, anytime – and very soon, artificial intelligence and so-called cognitive computing will become as normal as sending an SMS.

The traditional education paradigm of just-in-case learning is being challenged by the just-in-time learning approach that the Internet seems to afford. As a result, human ingenuity and intuition (‘knowing without knowing’), creativity, social or emotional intelligence and a new kind of wisdom will matter increasingly.

Are we moving on from the industrial/information age and its left-brain emphasis to a kind of right-brain renaissance, and will we see a new triumph of creativity, storytelling and imagination? Or will machines and software ‘eat our world’ and turn us into useless ‘wetware’? What skills do we need to teach ourselves or our children so that they can he happy and prosper 5-10 years from now? How will they be successful in those jobs that haven’t even been invented yet? What will happen to educational institutions, schools, colleges and universities, and will degrees and certificates still be as valuable as they are today? If learning is a lifelong ‘flow’ and in-demand instead of just-in-case, how will our educational systems evolve?

The Future Show (TFS) is a new web-TV show created and hosted by Futurist Gerd Leonhard. TFS is the first web-TV show that explains the fast-paced world of technology to a general consumer and business audience in an irreverent, critical, engaging and exciting way. The TFS episodes are 4-7 minutes in duration and focus on topics that are relevant, impactful and of immediate interest to the curious consumer as well as to the global business professional that wants to stay ahead of the curve. Engaged consumers and curious professionals, the millennial generation as well as the so-called digital immigrants and foresight-minded business and civic leaders will enjoy TFS without necessarily having to be experts, geeks or early adopters.

Subject matters include how quickly and irreversibly technology is changing our lives, our jobs, our culture and our economies as well as the overall way we conduct business, how the future (personally and societally) will be impacted by what Gerd Leonhard calls ‘total digitisation’ i.e. by ubiquitous connectivity and powerful yet low-cost electronic devices, and what it will mean to ‘be human’ in such a fully-digital society. Some of the episodes will discuss privacy and surveillance, so-called big data, artificial intelligence, robots and the rise of ultra-smart machines, the rise of sustainable capitalism, the future of knowledge and education, ‘digital obesity’ and information overload, ‘offline’ as a kind of new luxury and much more.