The Future of You
Tracey Follows
Hello, welcome to the Future of You podcast.
Here we’re going to investigate and analyse all the ways emerging technologies are going to affect our identity. We used to argue about whether personal identity was in the mind or in the body; but now that psychology of the self and the biology of self has been joined by a third dimension - the technology of the self.
In a digital, data-driven world, Facebook gets a say in verifying who we are, medical science can alter our genetic make-up, and AI will help us create our digital twin - just how many identities do we need in the multiverse? How is 21st Century technology changing who we are?
I set out to research exactly that, when I wrote my book The Future of You. That turned out to be only the start of my journey into our changing identity in a digital world. And I thought rather than continue to research this on my own, I could invite you along too.
I’m Tracey Follows, I’m a futurist and founder of Futuremade, the futures consultancy, and I’ve helped brands and businesses like Virgin, Google, Diageo and Farfetch spot trends, develop strategic foresight and fully prepare for what comes next.
I believe identity is the defining issue of our generation. So every fortnight I’ll be releasing new episodes, featuring panels of experts as we delve into topics such as how we use media to express our selves, the emergence of the extreme self, transhumanism and the augmented self; anonymity, genetics, biometrics, mind clones, and the digital afterlife - these are just some of the innovations, and controversies, we’ll cover.
Join the community, buy the book at thefutureofyou.co.uk or connect with me on X at @traceyfutures. Please come with me on this journey to explore identity in the digital world, as we investigate the future of me, and the future of you.
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Top 10 The Future of You Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Future of You episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Future of You for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Future of You episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
"The Future of You" Season 3 - Trailer
The Future of You
03/27/23 • 1 min
In this third season of The Future of You podcast, I’ll be talking about a new dimension to the self. Along with the biology and the psychology of the self, we now have the technology of the self.
I’m Tracey Follows, Futurist, Founder of Futuremade and Visiting Professor of digital futures and identity at Staffordshire University. This season continues with a new format. We stick with two episodes being released every month but now you’ll hear The Discussion and The Briefing.
Expect deep conversations on the topic of identity in The Discussion episodes, and check in with The Briefing to stay up to date with the latest news in tech and identity.
We'll dive into digital identity, biometrics, brainwave data, smart cities, digital twins and much more.
Follow this podcast now to make sure you don’t miss an episode - they will be released every second Thursday, starting March 30.
10/16/24 • 52 min
Byron Tau is an American investigative journalist and author of the new book "Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State” so in this episode I’m talking to Byron about the intricate world of government surveillance.
We discuss how commercial data is leveraged by the US government and other entities for extensive monitoring. We also talk about the public’s seeming lack of awareness, the role of data brokers, the impact of surveillance on personal identity, and the implications of AI. During our conversation Byron shares insights from his own research, talks about how he self-financed his investigation and emphasises the importance of supporting independent journalism.
Byron Tau photo credit: Elliott O’Donovan
The Future of You podcast investigates and analyses all the ways emerging technologies are going to affect our identity. Join futurist Tracey Follows as she explores our changing identity in a digital world.
- Byron’s new book: Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State is available now https://www.amazon.co.uk/Means-Control-Alliance-Government-Surveillance/dp/0593443225
- Check out Notus at https://www.notus.org/
- Tracey's book 'The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology?' available in the UK (https://bit.ly/44ObTha) and US (https://bit.ly/3OlDxgk)
- The Future of You was named Best Technology Podcast at the Independent Podcast Awards 2023.The Future of You podcast homepage https://www.futuremade.group/the-future-of-you
- Find Tracey at https://www.futuremade.group/abouttracey
- Explore more on The Future of You at https://www.futuremade.group/the-future-of-you
The Discussion: AI, Agents and Swarm Intelligence #26
The Future of You
10/04/23 • 46 min
#SwarmIntelligence #Avatars #MotionPrints
This week I’m talking to Louis Rosenberg, CEO and chief scientist of Unanimous AI and the chief scientist of the Responsible Metaverse Alliance.
We discuss the impact of conversational AI on our everyday interactions and whether marketing will be morphing into manipulation as virtual salespeople become a reality.
We also discuss the data hidden in our movements and the work being done to protect our motion privacy. The conversation ends with a discussion about swarm intelligence and what we might learn from biological systems in nature.
Louis Rosenberg film link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsE_Pas2OQU
The Future of You is a finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2023
Tracey's book 'The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology?' available in the UK (https://bit.ly/44ObTha) and US (https://bit.ly/3OlDxgk)
09/20/23 • 36 min
Interactive experiences like Roblox are giving children the chance to explore their identity like never before. In this episode I speak with kids media consultant Jo Redfern about the intricacies of Gen Z’s digital identity, self-expression, and the power children have in the 21st century to shape their virtual personas.
We discuss the new Barbie movie and the intersection of merchandising and identity. As well as thinking about the future of education and the alternative the learning paths that gaming and digital platforms are revealing.
The Future of You is a finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2023.
Tracey's book 'The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology?' available in the UK (https://bit.ly/44ObTha) and US (https://bit.ly/3OlDxgk)
Jo Redfern's LinkedIn
Kids Media Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/kids-media-club-podcast/id1573404550
Future of Education 2050 Report
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1Cu0aisIbr_9c-UucelETT92cRUppubYm
Tracey in Daily Mail
Tracey in the Mirror
https://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/future-education-technology-3d-virtual-30900376
The Briefing: Customer Wallets, Customer Futures #24
The Future of You
08/31/23 • 51 min
Will brands have their own wallets for customers? Will customers have their own wallets that they give brands access to? How will digital wallets reshape the data we store? And what’s the difference between personal and personalised wallets?
In this episode of The Briefing I discuss all of this and more with Jamie Smith, founder of Customer Futures.
This episode also features an announcement about the future of this podcast. The Briefing will only be available to members in future. To find out more about the membership and how to join visit www.traceyfollows.com
The Discussion episodes continue to be available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Jamie Smith https://www.customerfutures.com/
Tracey’s deck, Identity Century: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFrapqZWbo/view?utm_content=DAFrapqZWbo&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=embeds&utm_source=link
Accenture’s Tech Trends https://www.accenture.com/content/dam/accenture/final/accenture-com/a-com-custom-component/iconic/document/Accenture-Technology-Vision-2023-Full-Report.pdf
Tracey's book 'The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology?' available in the UK (https://bit.ly/44ObTha) and US (https://bit.ly/3OlDxgk)
The Discussion: Biometrics: The Rights And The Responsibilities #23
The Future of You
08/16/23 • 73 min
In this episode of The Discussion I speak to Andrew Bud, Founder and CEO of iProov, the world leader in biometric face verification. We discuss the importance of keeping ahead of security in biometrics, the advantages of face biometrics over the iris or palm - and what he thinks about the future of anonymity.
I also speak with Bronwyn Williams, a futurist and economist based in South Africa. We discuss the issues that could arise from a single company becoming the centralised global infrastructure for digital identities ie Worldcoin’s World ID.
Tracey's book 'The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology?' available in the UK (https://bit.ly/44ObTha) and US (https://bit.ly/3OlDxgk)
iProov
website https://www.iproov.com
Genuine Presence Assurance
https://www.iproov.com/why-iproov/the-problem-we-solve/genuine-presence
Biometric Threat Report
https://www.iproov.com/reports/biometric-threat-intelligence
Flux Trends website
Bronwyn's blog
Bronwyn's book
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Starts-Now-Insights-Technology/dp/1472981502
The Discussion: Identity, Audiences and Avatars #21
The Future of You
07/19/23 • 59 min
Let’s dump the doomerism and take a positive look at AI. In this episode I’m speaking with audience expert David Boyle. As co-author of ‘Prompt’ David has quite literally written the book on how AI can be used to enhance the creation of all types of content across a variety of sectors. I also chat with Matthew Kershaw, VP of commercial strategy at D-id.com, about the rise in the creation of digital avatars, the anthropomorphism of digital assistance and what it means for our future digital selves.
Tracey's book 'The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology?' available in the UK and US
David and Richard’s website https://prompt.mba/
David’s book https://www.amazon.co.uk/PROMPT-Brands-practical-ChatGPT-Practical/dp/B0C1JD7C32
Audience Strategies website https://www.audiencestrategies.com/
Matthew is at D-ID.com’s website https://www.d-id.com/
D-ID.com on linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/deidentification/
TF14 was built by https://thepeeps.xyz/
The Briefing: AI: The Death of The Artist? #20
The Future of You
07/06/23 • 30 min
In this episode of The Briefing I consider how AI is impacting art and artists. We drop in on the Stanford event around Creativity in the Age of AI, we consider some of the news making headlines about China and AI. And we end up at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, in Warsaw, from where I spoke about AI and the Death of the Artist.
Tracey's book 'The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology?' available in the UK and US
China Inc. Shows How Generative AI Can Be Serious Business https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/China-Inc.-shows-how-generative-AI-can-be-serious-business
Is AI Killing Art? https://radii.co/article/ai-art-zhang-huan-xu-bing
Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence: Creativity In The Age of AI event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9wOvFihY74
Mateusz Szsiedlecki on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mateuszsiedleckiphoto/
"'AI: The Death of the Artist?' is part of the Culture Tensions discussions curated by Manick Govinda and Agnieszka Kolek, commissioned by the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw Poland”.
Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw Poland https://u-jazdowski.pl/en
06/21/23 • 67 min
In this episode of The Discussion I’m joined by Josh Muncke - Commercial Director, Retail & Consumer at Faculty and Sam Gregory - Executive Director at Human Rights Organisation, WITNESS.
We cover generative AI models, what they are and how they're changing the customer experience. Testing and iterating as a process, and how the field of prompt engineering is going to evolve. Also shallow fakes versus deep fakes, the novel ability to create new media content from existing data, the need for safeguards and transparency. And of course, what's next for GPT, and the next generation of models.
Tracey's book 'The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st Century Technology?' available in the UK and US
The Manifesto of You
The Future of You
03/27/23 • 3 min
“To be or not to be I.T...... That is the question”
As we prepare for the start of Season 3 of The Future of You podcast, listen to The Manifesto of You.
Follow this podcast now to make sure you don’t miss an episode - they will be released every second Thursday starting March 30.
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Future of You have?
The Future of You currently has 41 episodes available.
What topics does The Future of You cover?
The podcast is about Genetics, Society & Culture, Futurist, Podcasts and Technology.
What is the most popular episode on The Future of You?
The episode title 'The Discussion: The Game of Identity: entertainment meets education #25' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Future of You?
The average episode length on The Future of You is 46 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Future of You released?
Episodes of The Future of You are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of The Future of You?
The first episode of The Future of You was released on Dec 22, 2021.
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