World Economic Forum

This episode features Alice Charles in conversation with Mauricio Rodas, Former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador.

Humanity is embarking on an age of technological change more profound than any before it. With history as our guide, we know that massive social change will follow in its wake. In episode one of ‘Shaping the Industrial Revolution’, we introduce the framework and look at some of the best, and worst, outcomes possible, with Geoff Mulgan, Director of the UK’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts; Jane Humphries, Professor of Economic History at All Souls College, Oxford; Gerd Leonhard, futurist and author of ‘Technology versus Human’; and Bob Hirst, General Editor of the Mark Twain Project and curator of the Mark Twain papers at Berkeley.

In the second episode of this season, we collaborate with Azeem Azhar, host of Exponential View, and member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Digital Economy and Society. This episode features Azeem in conversation with Anousheh Ansari, CEO of the X Prize Foundation and member of the Global Future Council on Space Technologies.

After a number of years of economic crisis, can we now be optimistic about the progress of the global economy? What are the implications of the backlash against globalization? With the coming of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, what new opportunities or tools can help keep the global economy together?In this week’s episode of “A Glimpse into the Future”, we talk to Hélène Rey, Lord Bagri Professor of Economics at the London Business School, and member of the World Economic Forum Council on the Future of Financial and Monetary Systems.

How optimistic can we be about achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? What positive or negative trends are we seeing that serve as deciders in achieving the SDGs? What are some of the new fourth industrial revolution technologies that might give us an extra boost in achieving the SDGs?In this week’s episode of “A Glimpse into the Future”, we talk to Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Chair of the Development Assistance Committee at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Charlotte is also the Chair of the World Economic Forum Council on the Future of International Governance, Public-Private Cooperation and Sustainable Development.

How do we transition from fossil fuels—and can we do it smoothly? How can we ensure access to modern energy and electricity for all in the transition? What types of policies will it take to get there and how can they become reality? What do we not know or have a good sense of in this future of energy? In this week’s episode of “A Glimpse into the Future”, we talk to the co-chairs of the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Future of Energy: Jeroen van der Veer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, ING Group, and Katherine Hamilton, Director of the Project for Clean Energy and Innovation.

The promise of Artificial Intelligence is enormous in almost every sphere it touches; education, health, agriculture and care, to name just a few sectors. AI has clear potential to transform outcomes in just a few years. As ever, risks abound, with autonomous weapons an area of special concern for experts today, and plenty more to come. For episode 2 of ‘Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution’, we consult Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science and Smith-Zadeh Professor in Engineering, University of California, Berkeley; Jeremy Howard, founder of Fast.ai; Francesca Rossi, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Padova, Farb Nivi, founder of Grockit and Learnist; Wendell Wallach, Chair of Technology and Ethics Studies, Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Yale University, and Co-chair of the WEF Global Future Council on Technology, Values, and Policy; Geoff Mulgan, Director of the UK’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts; and Erica Kochi, Co-director of UNICEF's Innovation Unit.

What are the major demographic trends shaping the future of consumption? What will the major groupings of consumer archetypes be in the future? What role will our evolving values play in this shift in consumer trends? How can we ensure that we have a responsible consumption and economic growth at the same time? How do you think the future of work will shape the consumers’ spending power? What are some of the most exciting technologies that might help shape the future of consumption in the next 10 to 15 years?In this week’s episode of “A Glimpse into the Future”, we talk to Elaine Coventry, Head of Commercial Leadership for The Coca-Cola Company in Western Europe, and Chair of the World Economic Forum Council on the Future of Consumption.

How do you educate children for a future whose main characteristic is ambiguous change? How will new technologies impact what we need to learn, as well as how we do it? Can AI create personal tutors for all? Can entrepreneurialism and independence join maths and science as curriculum fundamentals? In episode four of ‘Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ we meet Ted Dintersmith, the former venture capitalist turned education philanthropist and activist; Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology and winner of the TED prize; Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish education guru and author; Brittany Bir, the CEO of programming school 42 Silicon Valley; Sylvain Kalache, co-founder of Holberton School of Software Engineering; Farb Nivi, founder of Grockit and Learnist; and deep learning expert, Jeremy Howard.

How are Behavioural Sciences applied in our economy and society currently? What opportunities will they open up in the next 10-15 years? Which sectors can profit most? What are the risks with these tools being used for the wrong reasons? In this week’s episode of “A Glimpse into the Future”, we talk to Iris Bohnet and Robert J. Shiller from the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Future of Behavioural Sciences. Dr Bohnet is the director of the Women and Public Policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Professor Shiller is a Nobel Laureate and a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is an event of dizzying complexity and scale, but it is fundamentally of our own creation. Its story has not been written and its outcomes are not determined. It is our actions, in their millions, that will shape its course. How can you play your part in securing a benign revolution and steering it away from disaster? In our final episode of ’Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution’, we convene our own experts to discuss what we can all do as individuals to play our part in this great and important drama. With Nicholas Davies, Head of Society and Innovation.

Bestselling author Adam Grant has advice for employers and employees on coping with COVID-19 lockdown, finding JOMO (the joy of missing out), and how we might achieve 'post-traumatic growth'

This episode features Alice Charles in conversation with Eugenie Birch, Nussdorf Professor and Co-Director, Penn Institute for Urban Research, University of Pennsylvania.

In the first episode of this season, we collaborate with Azeem Azhar, host of Exponential View, and member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Digital Economy and Society. This episode features Azeem in conversation with Lisa Witter, co-founder and executive chairman of Apolitical and co-chair of the Global Future Council on Agile Governance.

What does digital transformation in manufacturing supply chains look like? How will digital disruption affect the manufacturing ecosystem? What are the major concerns we need to look out for as this digital transformation takes place, for example, in governance, cybersecurity, and skills development? In this week’s episode of “A Glimpse into the Future”, we talk to Jag Srai, Head, Centre for International Manufacturing, Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge, and member of the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Future of Production.

This episode features Alice Charles in conversation with Zarina Patel, Senior Lecturer, Environmental and Geographic Science, University of Cape Town.

After the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, what are the main areas of progress we have seen? Which emerging technologies could be a game changer for human rights protection and enforcement in the future and how? Which ones are posing new challenges to human rights and how can we address those early on?In this week’s episode of “A Glimpse into the Future”, we talk to the co-chairs of the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Future of Human Rights: Erica Kochi, co-founder of UNICEF Innovation, and Mike Posner, Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics and Finance of the Stern School of Business at New York University and Director of their Center for Business and Human Rights.

An interview with Adam Grant on how we can manage throughout the coronavirus crisis

Whatever else the First Industrial Revolution may have been, it was an environmental calamity. As we now know, the practice of mining and burning fossil fuels on a massive scale was profoundly consequential for our planetary development. Does the Fourth Industrial Revolution give us the chance to reverse the damage we have done? Across the spectrum of environmentalist activity, there are engineers and innovators finding ways to employ new technologies to lessen our impact on ecosystems, from the startup using blockchain to drive sustainable buying decisions to the activist using satellites to bring environmental degraders to book. In episode 3 of ‘Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ we talk to John Amos, founder of Skytruth; Paul Bunje, Chief Scientist of the X-Prize Foundation; Jonathon Porritt, former Director of Friends of the Earth; Lauren Fletcher, founder and CEO of Biocarbon Engineering; Jessi Baker, Founder of Provenance; Kim Hunter, VP of Communications and Engagement at Aclima.

Who will reap the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution? Will it be the top 1% at the expense of the rest of us, or will the proceeds be shared equitably enough to make it worthwhile for everyone? Voters in the rich world are already showing signs of serious discontent with the proceeds of globalisation, as evidence has grown that the growth of the last decade has benefitted those at the top disproportionately. There is a risk, in the eyes of many observers, that if powerful interests are able to capture the lion’s share of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s goodies for themselves, conflict and social upheaval will ensue. How can policymakers chart a path to a form of growth that is more inclusive as this revolution unfolds? Can the excesses of globalisation be curbed? In episode 9 of ’Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution’, we talk to Danny Leipziger, Managing Director of the Growth Dialogue; Jonathan Ostry, Deputy Director of the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund; Sergei Guriev, Chief Economist of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development; Jeremy Howard, deep learning expert and founder of Fast.AI; Margareta Drzeniek-Hanouz, Head of Future of Economic Progress and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum.