The year 2025 isn't just pivotal – it's the stage for a new world order. Donald Trump's administration has plunged diplomacy and economics into chaos, establishing misinformation and intimidation as cornerstones of global interaction. What happens if truth is negotiable, bullying is normal, and established diplomacy is upended? As longstanding alliances strain and trust erodes, the critical question emerges: how long before U.S. democracy fractures completely, and what comes next? Which opportunities may result from this crisis (such as the USofE) ? Simultaneously, the climate emergency is no longer just a potential threat— it's here, now; devastatingly real and relentless. And if that's not enough, while humanity could potentially prosper with the wide availability of amazing AI tools, we must also face the possibility of Artificial General Intelligence (our last invention?) Will AGI elevate humanity to unprecedented heights, or swiftly render us irrelevant? The fight for The Good Future is ON – and this keynote will show the way forward.

Our world is changing faster than ever, fueled by deep geopolitical shifts, long-standing, complex conflicts and regional wars, the accelerating climate emergency, the mind-boggling pace of technological transformation and the confusion that comes with the meteoric rise of AI. What used to be unthinkable or deemed impossible is quickly becoming the new normal, and science fiction is increasingly becoming science fact. The excitement about amazing new tech is real, but worries about the future are also at an all-time high. So how could we reset i.e. rebrand the future as ‘good'? How could it become a reality? How can humanity go beyond the amazing science and the cool tools towards more collaboration and TELOS? I believe that The Good Future is real and attainable – and I'm ready to explore it with you!

Trust is the glue that hold societies together
…but in the past decade, it’s been dissolving at an alarming rate. Trust in government, public organisations, media, and even in each other has eroded. ‘Too much technology’ might be at least partly responsible, as we increasingly spend more time with screens (and soon, AIs?) than with people, and our news is now fed to us by social media algorithms designed not to inform, but to generate the most clicks.

It turns out that ‘more technology’ does not inspire more collaboration and understanding; instead, it fuels mistrust and fear. As a result, democracy is in decline, while authoritarian and populist leaders gain ground. Is democracy likely to die in a digital-first world?

We’re already struggling with these issues today (in 2025) but what will happen when AI—specifically AI Agenting and AI Search—really takes off? When virtual reality, spatial computing, and the metaverse become as common as WhatsApp, will we remain trapped in our dystopian obsession, or can we steer technology toward Protopia—a world where progress, growth and trust coexist?

I think we must reclaim trust—not just in institutions, but in each other. That starts with a new narrative—one that reminds us why humans can be trusted and why a Good Future is entirely possible. But it doesn’t stop there. We must also take action: Reboot social media to prioritize truth and meaningful discourse over outrage and engagement. Rekindle public media to provide independent, trustworthy journalism. Regulate AI to ensure it enhances humanity rather than ending up dehumanizing us.

In this brand-new keynote, I first analyse what is happening, then share my key foresights for the next five years, and finally, propose concrete actions for rebuilding trust.

“We are to be architects of the future, not its victims.” —Buckminster Fuller

THINK LARGER. IMAGINE. PREPARE.

AI is now a general purpose technology, and the platform ‘for everything' – yet AI is clearly not the panacea or the magic wand many entrepreneurs, tech-moguls and Silicon Valley investors have envisioned. It's time to look beyond AI. While we certainly need to get ready for the 5 hyper-exponential technological game-changers (quantum computing, nuclear fusion, synthetic biology & nano-technology, genome editing and geo-engineering) we also need to ask this crucial question: What kind of future do we want? In this talk, I outline what to expect by 2030, while correlating the technological breakthroughs with wider societal developments such as the rapidly accelerating climate emergency, technology regulation, global governance and global consciousness, the rise of GenY & Z, global demographics and various important geopolitical mega-trends.

Too much of a good thing can be a very bad thing

Techno-Optimism (often coupled with accelerationism) is the increasingly popular belief that leaps in science – and the corresponding exponential advances in technology – can solve most if not all societal problems and that all technological progress will enhance human well-being. Therefore, it is important to not get in the way of technology unfolding at the fastest possible rate.

Proponents of Techno-Optimism such as the famed Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen assert that technology is the primary driver of growth and prosperity, advocating for a dramatically accelerated approach to technological development, in particular in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). In contrast, I caution against this often cult-like approach to technology's importance, its over-reliance on data and computing, deep learning and ‘intelligent machines’, downplaying the drawbacks such as an increasing loss of trust in each other, disinformation (such as with social media), job displacement, privacy concerns, deep surveillance, and the very real outcome of general reductionism and dehumanisation.

Transcending the AI debate, I explain why we need a balanced perspective that considers both the super-exciting potential benefits and the likely devastating unintended or unplanned consequences of rapid technological progress, arguing for a more holistic approach that goes beyond mere economic or geopolitical power gains. Our views on what technology should or should not do are becoming crucial, as we head into a future where AI is at the center of ‘everything, everywhere ‘ – as many major players such as OpenAI seek to invent machines that are generally intelligent and capable of reasoning, surpassing human capabilities in all relevant tasks (HaltAGI presentation)

In this talk, I also dive into why I remain optimistic, and explain that while ‘embracing technology' will be crucial for making The Good Future a reality, I also think we must reiterate the urgent need for collaboration, and create incentives do the right thing (i.e. to pursue people, planet, purpose and prosperity, not just profit and growth) Exponential technological gains alone are not enough – we must develop science and technology while we pursue humanity at the same time. The Future is amazing humans on-top of awesome technology.

AI is now a general-purpose technology like fire or the printing press, and it's a new technology platform as well. It could be heaven, or it could be hell, depending on whether the tools will dominate us, or whether human telos (the purpose) will prevail. The more power we have, the more wisdom we'll need! And that's true no matter whether we will pursue AGI, or not.

Science fiction is increasingly becoming science fact as smart machines – both physical and virtual – take on more tasks once thought impossible for a “digital entity” to accomplish. As a result, knowledge work is transforming at a rapid pace, forcing us to reconsider what it means to be human – in our daily life, in our professions and in our organisations. What will happen if and when machines become ‘generally intelligent‘?

We must embrace these new possibilities while also preserving and protecting our humanity. We need proaction and precaution. We must define new values and goals that transcend increased efficiency or the resulting financial gains. I think it will be our androrithms, our uniquely human skills and traits that will make us invaluable in this coming age of AI, not just our ability to command technology or to become faster by using it (or even to merge with it).

In this customized talk, I guide my audience through what is important (and real) versus what is utopia or plain false (or dangerous) when it comes to AI. I delineate how we can harness the power of AI to further human (and planetary) flourishing, happiness, success, and well-being. I set forth why I believe the future holds great promise if we play our cards right and pursue People, Planet, Purpose, and Prosperity.

Why and how People-Planet-Purpose and Prosperity is the key to the Good Future
Fueled by recent geopolitical conflicts, the urgency to address the accelerating climate emergency, and the mounting societal challenges of technological hyper-transformation (in particular, AI), the world continues to change at a mind-boggling pace, and confusion reigns.

Once unthinkable climate-emergency measures such as new carbon taxes (for aviation or for eating meat) are increasingly likely, concerned citizens (especially the GenY) around the world will push for real change. CEOs are touting their commitments to stakeholder values, but many doubt that corporate leadership toward a better future is sincere enough; resulting in a political power shift that benefits autocratic regimes.

What kind of future do we want? Is our current economic logic even suitable for the future? Will the traditional model of ‘free and open markets' deliver solutions for these complex global issues? Is this approach fit for the future?

I believe that we must look beyond socialism, capitalism, and/or liberalism to design a new economic logic and reboot our stock markets as we transition from the suicidal single bottom line of GDP growth to what I call the 4Ps: People, Planet, Purpose, and Prosperity. This keynote will dive into my latest learnings on The Good Future, and help show the way forward.

Artificial Intelligence can generate media and content that is nearly indistinguishable from human creations – at least when consumed quickly or on small devices. Globally, some 50% of consumers already get their ‘news' from social media and various mobile/video platforms that are essentially programmed by AI, with very little human supervision. The Internet is bound to change forever, with AI at the helm. Manufactured and fake narratives are certain to lead to stock market disruptions and railroad political decisions and elections. Augmented and virtual reality, the metaverse as well as spatial computing (see Apple's Vision Pro) will soon allow us to transcend spatial (and thus, human) limitations and literally be anywhere, anything, anytime, with anyone. But if most content/media/narrative is synthetic i.e. generated by algorithms, and most decisions are made by algorithms (trivial or more essential, alike), and AI's ‘black box' extends over most of our daily activities, how will we retain what makes us human? How can we still connect to each other, in real-life? What will happen to democracy? How will we pursue real happiness and deal with the increasing loneliness syndrome? Gerd will outline what may happen in the near future and suggest ways that the trend towards dehumanisation could be halted, how exponential technologies could be deployed more wisely, and generally, why human connectedness is so essential. “Algorithms know the value of everything but the feeling of nothing”.