Last Week on Earth with GARI

Today’s podcast with Sebastian Hallensleben includes topics on the impact of generative AI with tools like deep fake, the future of platforms like Facebook and the creation of new platforms for constructive discourse, quantum computing, using a piece of the sun for energy on earth, and lastly, how to fund foundational research.

Sebastian Hellensleben is the head of digitalization and AI at VDE, and works on concepts and infrastructures for trust in the digital space.

Impact of generative AI - tools such as deep fakes - in the digital space. We haven’t yet understood it properly.

Generative AI tools:

being able to create profiles of people that don’t exist

creating media for people that don’t exist

virtual influencers that can have followers

The contest of quantity between product promoters is who has more bots. How can we trust ratings?

Democratic discourse: if we lose the digital space as a platform for discourse to bots, it’ll have a major impact on the ability of democratic systems to function.

How to regulate this?

Regulation is never going to turn platforms like Facebook into a forum for constructive discourse. And that’s something we really have to understand.

So we have to look elsewhere and we need to create new kinds of platforms where constructive discourse can happen.

You need to create different incentive mechanisms. Like to convince another person of your position, or to gather reputation if you're able to build consensus between groups of 20 or 30 other users.

Where are platforms like Facebook heading?

It is frightening that the owners of these platforms either haven't asked the question or there is no answer, to how these platforms can evolve in a more sustainable way.

What technology are you excited about now?

Quantum computing - because it’ll be more disruptive - it is certainly a very fascinating technology. It's hard to say are we 5 years or 50 away from breakthroughs. It shares that with much older technology like nuclear fusion. But the mere notion of being able to have a piece of the sun on earth and use it to create energy.

Who should be funding all this?

Foundational research will never be funded by commercial investment. Because rewards are 20, 30 or 40 years away and it might not be clear what these rewards are. It's important governments support foundational research. It would be wise to have budgets to do research and just see where it takes us.

How do we get countries that spend less than 3% of their GDP on research and innovation to spend more?

We need to link foundational research to certain megatrends: aging population, finite natural recourses, the need to keep this planet liveable, and also from a perspective of how to keep people living together peacefully. Building resilient democracies for stable economies.
American versus European approach to spurring innovation.

Fresh thinking on what the European Union actually is
Triggered by Brexit and Putin’s war and Trump, but nevertheless triggered. What is the goal and if the facets of that goal are still remnant? And a fresh perspective on the internal structures. Is it an economic union? Yes, to what

If you want better insights into challenges and decisions you or your business are facing, GARI’s analytical services are of unmatched complexity and high accuracy - whether your questions are on the green energy transition, trade and supply chains, or political and security related - contact us for a free consultation and see how you can optimise your decision-making.
www.globari.org
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@GARInstitute) / Twitter

All there is to know about the metaverse with Claudia May del Pozo, Executive Director of the Eon Resilience Lab, under C Minds, a women-led action tank that works at the intersection of digitalization, new technologies, and society with a strong focus on Latin America. We’re going to be chatting about the metaverse.

• monopoly on metaverse? or utopian version built on blockchain?
• when will we have a metaverse?
• next stage of social media
• problems:
  • accessibility
  • inclusion
  • privacy and security
• uses of virtual reality

Questions posed:

1. What is the metaverse, and how is it different from virtual reality or augmented reality?
2. How do you envision the metaverse evolving in the coming years, and what impact do you think it will have on our daily lives?
3. What ethical considerations should be taken into account when designing and implementing the metaverse, particularly with regards to data privacy and security?
4. What is being done so that the metaverse is accessible to all, regardless of their socioeconomic background or geographic location?
5. How can the metaverse be used to promote social and environmental causes, and what are some examples of this in action?
6. What role do you see governments playing in regulating the metaverse, and what challenges do you think they will face in doing so?

https://mx.linkedin.com/in/claudiamdelpozo/en

If you want better insights into challenges and decisions you or your business are facing, GARI’s analytical services are of unmatched complexity and high accuracy - whether your questions are on the green energy transition, trade and supply chains, or political and security related - contact us for a free consultation and see how you can optimise your decision-making.
www.globari.org
@LinkedIn
@GARInstitute) / Twitter

With guest Cathy Mulligan on how cryptocurrency enters the debate about digital cooperation at a UN panel? Sustainability in 2030 when 30% of the world's energy will be taken up by cloud computing, thought experiments like “do you actually need a central bank?”, what does universal connectivity mean?

If you’re being forced to use particular technologies because you're a developing country, are you being colonised by digital means? “If you want people to think about ethics, you have to talk to them before they start coding”

Dr Catherine Mulligan is a Visiting Researcher in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship group with a joint appointment to the Department of Computing where she is Co-Director of the Imperial College Centre for Cryptocurrency Research. Cathy delivers research in technical, economic and policy applications of digital technologies and digital transformation. In addition to her theoretical research, she also has extensive experience of translating her research into real-world solutions for multi-national corporations and start-ups alike.

Cathay is VP and Region CTO of North and West Europe at Fujitsu. She is a Fellow and an Expert of the World Economic Forum Blockchain Council through the GULF and a member of the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Co-Operation.

Until December 2017, Cathy served as standardisation lead for the Open and Agile Smart Cities (OASC) Task Force and Vice Chairman of the ETSI ISG on Context Information Management. She was also a Visiting Fellow at the Glasgow School of Art Institute for Design Innovation (INDI)

“My aim in life is to deliver on the promise of digital technologies in a fair and equitable manner for everyone in society. I do this by providing a unique combination of research skills and real-world industrial experience in both technology and digital economics. I started programming when I was 10 years old and never looked back - I've had the privilege of helping various technologies take off - including mobile networks, IoT and blockchain.”

GARI is a research institute that uses advanced technology, such as AI with Big Data, to visualise, understand and create the ability to manage globalisation.

If you want better insights into challenges and decisions you or your business are facing, GARI’s analytical services are of unmatched complexity and high accuracy - whether your questions are on the green energy transition, trade and supply chains, or political and security related - contact us for a free consultation and see how you can optimise your decision-making.
www.globari.org
@LinkedIn
@GARInstitute) / Twitter

In this episode, we discuss navigating the dualities of the digital economy amidst rising entropy and the unexpected effects of regulations. Staying a tech optimist can feel challenging. The past decade of rapid digitalization has improved interactions between citizens and governments, amplified marginalized voices, and increased social and economic interconnectedness. However, these benefits aren't equally distributed. Issues like data commodification, privacy concerns, and societal pathologies from constant smartphone use have permeated societies, possibly irreversibly. The increase in societal entropy leads to disorder and uncertainty, impacting different groups unevenly. As a result, policies and regulations often struggle to succeed and may have unintended consequences, potentially fueling the erosion of democratic societies.

Guests:
Sebastian Hallensleben
Head of Digitalisation and AI; Head of Strategic Technology Area "Digital Trust", VDE | Co-Chair, OECD ONE AI; UNESCO AI Ethics implementation expert group

Dr. Sebastian Hallensleben, Chair of CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 shaping European AI standards for EU regulation, also contributes to the EU StandICT program and leads the Trusted Information working group. He co-chairs OECD ONE.AI's classification and risk assessment group and holds roles in AI committees at IEC, Council of Europe, and UNESCO. Additionally, he heads Digitalisation and AI at VDE, overseeing new product/service development and providing guidance to the German parliament, federal ministries, and the European Commission. His focus includes AI ethics, generative AI impact, privacy-preserving trust infrastructures, and AI quality characterization. Previously, he facilitated dialogues between academia, industry, and policymaking and worked on international infrastructure projects. With a PhD in physics, he began his career in IT development and solutions architecture in the financial and telecom sectors. He holds an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Tübingen and both his MSc and PhD degrees in physics are from the Unviersity of Sussexs.

Tony Curzon Price
Economic regulation, strategy, energy, net zero, antitrust, tech regulation, former sr advisor to UK PM

Tony Curzon Price Sits on the board of Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator with responsibility for achieving Net Zero. He has worked in Number 10, the Cabinet Office, the department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and in the UK's antitrust authority. Before his civil service career, he founded Arithmatica, a silicon valley chip design company, and spent 5 years building the company in the Bay Area; he was editor-in-chief of the UK political website openDemocracy, where transformed openDemocracy into a not-for-profit editors’ cooperative for comment, analysis and investigation. He wrote his PhD on game theory and market design with Ken Binmore at UCL.

Supported by: International Visegrad Fund

If you want better insights into challenges and decisions you or your business are facing, GARI’s analytical services are of unmatched complexity and high accuracy - whether your questions are on the green energy transition, trade and supply chains, or political and security related - contact us for a free consultation and see how you can optimise your decision-making.
www.globari.org
@LinkedIn
@GARInstitute) / Twitter

Trade Realities: European Uncertain Autonomy and Global Geoeconomics - N100 2024 Berlin
This discussion explored the implications of Europe's quest for resiliency and selective autonomy on its global trade relationships, regional economic stability, and overall competitiveness in an uncertain global environment. The debate dissected the state of global trade, examining the precarious balance between maintaining open commercial flows and responding to increasing geopolitical pressures. It analyzed the mixed outcomes of Europe's strategic shifts towards greater economic sovereignty, highlighting the challenges posed by external dependencies, particularly with China and the U.S., and the internal disparities among how EU regions were vulnerable to these shifts. The discussion addressed Europe's vulnerabilities and opportunities in technology and production, the broader impact of protectionist trends on global trade architectures, incorporating also the business and supply chain perspectives. With the evolving landscape of globalization—marked by cautious engagement and selective isolation—the panel explored viable strategies for Europe to navigate these dilemmas, ensuring resilience in a fragmenting global economy.
Speakers:
Donna Avellana Künzler
Head of Procurement Process Excellence & Digital Transformation, ABB

Donna Avellana Künzler is currently the Head of Procurement Process Excellence & Digital Transformation for ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation in Zurich, Switzerland. With 25 years of experience, she excels in international program/project management, business and IT process reengineering, risk and controls, and global system implementations.As an award-winning author, Künzler's book, "The Overseas Fabulous Pinay," published in March 2020, has earned accolades, including the Best Independent Book Award (BIBA) 2021 for Nonfiction: Travel-Living Abroad.

Michal Koran, Founder of the Global Arena Research Institute
Michal Kořan, President & Founder of the Global Arena Research Institute and Assistant Professor at Masaryk University, holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences. His expertise spans globalization, technology, global politics, security, foreign policy, theories of International Relations, and philosophy of science, with a focus on applied complex data science, data-driven forecasting, and risk assessment. He explores the interplay between (de)globalizing forces, supply chains, commodities, energy, security, and their social impacts, integrating neuroscientific research into understanding complex societal behaviour.

Next 100 Symposium
The Next 100 Symposium, organized by the Global Arena Research Institute, has brought together leaders and experts across various disciplines to discuss global challenges since 2018.

Supported by: International Visegrad Fund

If you want better insights into challenges and decisions you or your business are facing, GARI’s analytical services are of unmatched complexity and high accuracy - whether your questions are on the green energy transition, trade and supply chains, or political and security related - contact us for a free consultation and see how you can optimise your decision-making.
www.globari.org
@LinkedIn
@GARInstitute) / Twitter