London Futurists podcast

London Futurists

Anticipating and managing exponential impact - hosts David Wood and Calum ChaceCalum Chace is a sought-after keynote speaker and best-selling writer on artificial intelligence. He focuses on the medium- and long-term impact of AI on all of us, our societies and our economies. He advises companies and governments on AI policy.His non-fiction books on AI are Surviving AI, about superintelligence, and The Economic Singularity, about the future of jobs. Both are now in their third editions.He also wrote Pandora's Brain and Pandora’s Oracle, a pair of techno-thrillers about the first superintelligence. He is a regular contributor to magazines, newspapers, and radio.In the last decade, Calum has given over 150 talks in 20 countries on six continents. Videos of his talks, and lots of other materials are available at https://calumchace.com/.He is co-founder of a think tank focused on the future of jobs, called the Economic Singularity Foundation. The Foundation has published Stories from 2045, a collection of short stories written by its members.Before becoming a full-time writer and speaker, Calum had a 30-year career in journalism and in business, as a marketer, a strategy consultant and a CEO. He studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University, which confirmed his suspicion that science fiction is actually philosophy in fancy dress.David Wood is Chair of London Futurists, and is the author or lead editor of twelve books about the future, [ ] (https://deltawisdom.com/books/) including The Singularity Principles, Vital Foresight, The Abolition of Aging, Smartphones and Beyond, and Sustainable Superabundance.He is also principal of the independent futurist consultancy and publisher Delta Wisdom, executive director of the Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) Foundation, Foresight Advisor at SingularityNET, and a board director at the IEET (Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies). He regularly gives keynote talks around the world on how to prepare for radical disruption. See https://deltawisdom.com/.As a pioneer of the mobile computing and smartphone industry, he co-founded Symbian in 1998. By 2012, software written by his teams had been included as the operating system on 500 million smartphones.From 2010 to 2013, he was Technology Planning Lead (CTO) of Accenture Mobility, where he also co-led Accenture’s Mobility Health business initiative.Has an MA in Mathematics from Cambridge, where he also undertook doctoral research in the Philosophy of Science, and a DSc from the University of Westminster.

Anticipating and managing exponential impact - hosts David Wood and Calum ChaceCalum Chace is a sought-after keynote speaker and best-selling writer on artificial intelligence. He focuses on the medium- and long-term impact of AI on all of us, our societies and our economies. He advises companies and governments on AI policy.His non-fiction books on AI are Surviving AI, about superintelligence, and The Economic Singularity, about the future of jobs. Both are now in their third editions.He also wrote Pandora's Brain and Pandora’s Oracle, a pair of techno-thrillers about the first superintelligence. He is a regular contributor to magazines, newspapers, and radio.In the last decade, Calum has given over 150 talks in 20 countries on six continents. Videos of his talks, and lots of other materials are available at https://calumchace.com/.He is co-founder of a think tank focused on the future of jobs, called the Economic Singularity Foundation. The Foundation has published Stories from 2045, a collection of short stories written by its members.Before becoming a full-time writer and speaker, Calum had a 30-year career in journalism and in business, as a marketer, a strategy consultant and a CEO. He studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University, which confirmed his suspicion that science fiction is actually philosophy in fancy dress.David Wood is Chair of London Futurists, and is the author or lead editor of twelve books about the future, [ ] (https://deltawisdom.com/books/) including The Singularity Principles, Vital Foresight, The Abolition of Aging, Smartphones and Beyond, and Sustainable Superabundance.He is also principal of the independent futurist consultancy and publisher Delta Wisdom, executive director of the Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) Foundation, Foresight Advisor at SingularityNET, and a board director at the IEET (Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies). He regularly gives keynote talks around the world on how to prepare for radical disruption. See https://deltawisdom.com/.As a pioneer of the mobile computing and smartphone industry, he co-founded Symbian in 1998. By 2012, software written by his teams had been included as the operating system on 500 million smartphones.From 2010 to 2013, he was Technology Planning Lead (CTO) of Accenture Mobility, where he also co-led Accenture’s Mobility Health business initiative.Has an MA in Mathematics from Cambridge, where he also undertook doctoral research in the Philosophy of Science, and a DSc from the University of Westminster.

 

#124

What's your p(Pause)? with Holly Elmore

Our guest in this episode is Holly Elmore, who is the Founder and Executive Director of Pa... more

05 Dec 2025

43 MINS

43:42

05 Dec 2025


#123

Real-life superheroes and troubled institutions, with Tom Ough

Popular movies sometimes feature leagues of superheroes who are ready to defend the Earth ... more

31 Oct 2025

39 MINS

39:51

31 Oct 2025


#122

Safe superintelligence via a community of AIs and humans, with Craig Kaplan

Craig Kaplan has been thinking about superintelligence longer than most. He bought the URL... more

10 Oct 2025

41 MINS

41:15

10 Oct 2025


#121

How progress ends: the fate of nations, with Carl Benedikt Frey

Many people expect improvements in technology over the next few years, but fewer people ar... more

17 Sep 2025

37 MINS

37:08

17 Sep 2025


#120

Tsetlin Machines, Literal Labs, and the future of AI, with Noel Hurley

Our guest in this episode is Noel Hurley. Noel is a highly experienced technology strategi... more

08 Sep 2025

35 MINS

35:54

08 Sep 2025


#119

Intellectual dark matter? A reputation trap? The case of cold fusion, with Jonah Messinger

Could the future see the emergence and adoption of a new field of engineering called nucle... more

05 Aug 2025

40 MINS

40:10

05 Aug 2025


#118

AI agents, AI safety, and AI boycotts, with Peter Scott

This episode of London Futurists Podcast is a special joint production with the AI and You... more

29 Jul 2025

53 MINS

53:39

29 Jul 2025


#117

The remarkable potential of hydrogen cars, with Hugo Spowers

The guest in this episode is Hugo Spowers. Hugo has led an adventurous life. In the 1970s ... more

18 Jul 2025

43 MINS

43:08

18 Jul 2025


#116

AI and the end of conflict, with Simon Horton

Can we use AI to improve how we handle conflict? Or even to end the worst conflicts that a... more

23 Jun 2025

38 MINS

38:45

23 Jun 2025


#115

The AI disconnect: understanding vs motivation, with Nate Soares

Our guest in this episode is Nate Soares, President of the Machine Intelligence Research I... more

11 Jun 2025

48 MINS

48:53

11 Jun 2025


#114

Anticipating an Einstein moment in the understanding of consciousness, with Henry Shevlin

Our guest in this episode is Henry Shevlin. Henry is the Associate Director of the Leverhu... more

28 May 2025

41 MINS

41:02

28 May 2025


#113

The case for a conditional AI safety treaty, with Otto Barten

How can a binding international treaty be agreed and put into practice, when many parties ... more

09 May 2025

37 MINS

37:03

09 May 2025


#112

Humanity's final four years? with James Norris

In this episode, we return to the subject of existential risks, but with a focus on what a... more

30 Apr 2025

48 MINS

48:27

30 Apr 2025


#111

Human extinction: thinking the unthinkable, with Sean ÓhÉigeartaigh

Our subject in this episode may seem grim – it’s the potential extinction of the human spe... more

23 Apr 2025

41 MINS

41:56

23 Apr 2025


#110

The best of times and the worst of times, updated, with Ramez Naam

Our guest in this episode, Ramez Naam, is described on his website as “climate tech invest... more

26 Mar 2025

44 MINS

44:36

26 Mar 2025


#109

PAI at Paris: the global AI ecosystem evolves, with Rebecca Finlay

In this episode, our guest is Rebecca Finlay, the CEO at Partnership on AI (PAI). Rebecca ... more

27 Feb 2025

38 MINS

38:19

27 Feb 2025


#108

AI agents: challenges ahead of mainstream adoption, with Tom Davenport

The most highly anticipated development in AI this year is probably the expected arrival o... more

03 Feb 2025

33 MINS

33:29

03 Feb 2025


#107

Post-labour economics, with David Shapiro

In this episode, we return to a theme which is likely to become increasingly central to pu... more

23 Jan 2025

42 MINS

42:49

23 Jan 2025


#106

Longevity activism at 82, 86, and beyond, with Kenneth Scott and Helga Sands

Our guests in this episode have been described as the world’s two oldest scientifically as... more

10 Jan 2025

45 MINS

45:10

10 Jan 2025


#105

Models for society when humans have zero economic value, with Jeff LaPorte

Our guest in this episode is Jeff LaPorte, a software engineer, entrepreneur and investor ... more

02 Jan 2025

41 MINS

41:02

02 Jan 2025


#104

From ineffective altruism to effective altruism? with Stefan Schubert

Our subject in this episode is altruism – our human desire and instinct to assist each oth... more

26 Dec 2024

34 MINS

34:12

26 Dec 2024


#103

The global energy transition: an optimistic assessment, with Amory Lovins

Our guest in this episode is Amory Lovins, a distinguished environmental scientist, and co... more

16 Dec 2024

34 MINS

34:34

16 Dec 2024


#102

Building brain-like AIs, with Alexander Ororbia

Some people say that all that’s necessary to improve the capabilities of AI is to scale up... more

09 Dec 2024

47 MINS

47:08

09 Dec 2024


#101

To sidestep death, preserve your connectome, with Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston

In David's life so far, he has read literally hundreds of books about the future. Yet none... more

18 Nov 2024

41 MINS

41:23

18 Nov 2024