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February 9 · Issue #49 · View online
The best links and must-reads aggregated by Gerd Leonhard, Futurist & Humanist, Keynote Speaker, Author of 'Technology vs Humanity', Film-Maker, and CEO of The Futures Agency in Zürich / Switzerland.
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Greetings! I hope you are doing well. As fed up as I am with the never-really-leave-home-or-meet-anyone reality that’s now the new default here in wintery Zurich, I do think we are now finally progressing towards a With/Beyond-Corona World, with multiple and parallel ‘New Normals’ certain to cause considerable confusion and creative chaos in this coming year. The bottom line is that yes, this pandemic will become manageable, but it won’t ever really disappear. And the next really big challenge is already here: Facing the climate change emergency just like we are facing the virus, with emergency actions, sacrifices, new rules, new technologies and unprecedented (if not always voluntary) collaboration. We need to embrace the fact that there is no going ‘back to normal’ in terms of how we’ll look at life, business and society, going forward. Our mindset has changed irrevocably. Sure, we’ll (hopefully) go back to bars and restaurants and will even contemplate some business travel again - but the entire context i.e. why, when and how has changed. The real question is: Where do we go from here? Where do we want to go? We must ask ourselves what kind of future do we want (not just what kind of future we can have), because the good old “Normal” also included those nasty externalities of Friedman-esque capitalism such as inequality and global warming. No - NORMAL wasn’t good enough. And now, this question of ‘where do we want to go’ requires a unified response - at least in broad strokes. Below are some of the best things I’ve been looking at in the past 7 days. Enjoy, stay safe, and be well, and ping me anytime if you need something. Greetings from Zurich Gerd
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Exclusive sneak preview of my new series "What to Expect in 2021": Automation and the Future of Education, Work and Jobs
I will be releasing the entirety of my brand-new “Thoughts and Foresights for 2021 and Beyond” mini-series within the next 2 weeks. Until then, I wanted to share an exclusive preview for newsletter subscribers. Subscribe to my Youtube channel updates.
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Announcing My Brand-New 2021 Speaking Topics: Beyond Corona, The Good Future, and Awesome Humans!
Without a doubt, 2020 will go down as one of the most destructive, transformational, and challenging years of recent history. That’s why, I am revamping my 2021 core topics, which I will be unveiling in a series of blog posts in the coming weeks. Of all of the I am extremely excited about these first three:
THE GOOD FUTURE: Why and how “People-Planet-Purpose and Prosperity” is the key to our Future
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The pandemic taught us how NOT to deal with climate change | MIT Technology Review
We must transform the economy, not halt it, to prevent runaway warming. And we're doing it far, far too slowly today.
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Greta Thunberg’s message to the Davos Agenda (spoiler alert: she's angry)
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We May Never Eliminate COVID-19. But We Can Learn to Live With It
Whenever the U.S. emerges from the pandemic, “normal” may not look like it did in 2019. But if we heed the lessons the pandemic has taught, it could set us up for a healthier world moving forward.
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Israel’s Covid Vaccination Results Point a Way Out of Pandemic - The New York Times
Covid cases fell dramatically and quickly among people who were vaccinated, Israeli studies found. It’s the strongest evidence yet that a robust vaccination program can tame the pandemic.
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TIME's 2030 Committee Offers 8 Solutions for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future
According to Dr. Larry Brilliant, “Modernity has exacerbated a class of problems that we’re going to have to solve in the next 10 years: climate change, nuclear proliferation, scarcity of resources, pandemics and the knock-on effects that we aren’t even aware of.” If we are going to not only survive, but thrive, we must: find a way to rekindle a sense of global unity!
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How the race for renewable energy is reshaping global politics - FT
The journey to replace fossil fuels with green energy has been moving at glacial speed for decades — but is now violently on the move,” he said in a TV lecture series. Our world order has been based on oil,” says Lont. That is changing: “As we go from carbon [fossil fuels] to electrons, we will have a world order where the electron is more important than the carbon.
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Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel and Others: We Need Multilateral Cooperation for Global Recovery
We should not be afraid of a post-pandemic world that will not be the same as the status quo ante. We should embrace it and use all appropriate fora and available opportunities to make it a better world by advancing the cause of international cooperation.
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Steven Pinker Makes the Case for Optimism [Interview]
Author and Harvard professor Steven Pinker lays out what he see as a basic paradox. The news today seems worse than ever - but based on a number of key metri…
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Reimagining the Platform Economy | by Mariana Mazzucato, et al - Project Syndicate
Today’s digital economy has grown up around a business model of data and wealth extraction, confounding traditional antitrust paradigms and undermining the public and social value that otherwise could be derived from technological innovation. The state can redress these problems, but only if it reclaims its proper role.
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Cook v Zuck - Apple’s privacy policy kicks Facebook where it hurts | The Economist
“A social dilemma”, he thundered, “cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe.” Facebook was singled out without being named. Imho, I think Tim Cook is spot-on here.
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Must-read: ARK Investments Big Ideas Report 2021, my highlights and comments on AI, DL,VR, Battery Tech etc
Here is the new ARK Investments Big Ideas Report 2021, my highlights and comments on AI, DL,VR, Battery Tech etc - ARK Investments has shared yet another MUST READ analysis of
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Superstar Cities Are in Trouble - The Atlantic
The past year has offered a glimpse of the nowhere-everywhere future of work, and it isn’t optimistic for big cities.
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On Tech: The auto revolution is here
These companies are convinced that there will be a tipping point that spells the death of conventional cars. #mustread
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If you have any suggestions for topics I should cover... please send some feedback!
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Quote of the week: “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”
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That is all I have for now, but be sure to check your inbox Tuesday for the next instalment. Until then, have a great and inspiring week!
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Zürich Switzerland www.futuristgerd.com
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