All Episodes
Future Tense — 244 episodes · page 2 of 3
Conversing with aliens and 'decentering' the human
Does AI show we overestimate our human creativity? And what does creativity mean anyway?
Growing houses and running computers with help from bacteria — the future of synthetic biology
Building a new social contract
The Great Regression and the "kidification" of adulthood
Research productivity and innovation is declining
Managerialism ... and what it means for work
Turning our back on alcohol
Who are the beneficiaries of climate change?
The Great Plunder – curbing human creativity through mass theft
Sweltering Cities – the cost of exponential urbanisation
Technology churn versus digital Inclusion
How ancient trees could help in the fight against climate change
Why knowing when to finish is as important as getting started
The great scan — mapping below Earth's surface
Giving old technology a future-focussed twist
Cory Doctorow: Platform capitalism and the curse of "enshittification"
Architecture's AI crossroads
People have to solve the climate crisis — technology alone is not the answer
China's plan for a digital currency will have global implications
Worshipping a divine AI and turning outer space into an art gallery
The normalisation of economic warfare
Considering unintended consequences is the new crucial skill for the 21th century
The complexities of oversimplification
The Circular Economy approach – thinking systemically about the environment
Should you pay to drive into your city centre — for the sake of the climate?
Rethinking productivity and the pushback to shareholder capitalism
Acoustic restoration of ecosystems — how the sound of love helps animals return to old habitats
Air conditioning: keeping us cool but making the planet hotter
Algorithmic Intimacy – self-love, liability and babies as click bait
Self-destructive behaviour — the enemy within
The first ever drop in global energy sector emissions; and the battle for our brains
Should individuals bear the largest burden for climate action?
Cory Doctorow: Platform capitalism and the curse of "enshittification"
A new lifeline for local news
How Japan is redefining its military defence
Can mining the ocean floor go ahead without regulations?
Designing buildings for disasters
Robots + bees = pollination
Advanced AI – are we repeating the mistakes of the past?
Falling in love with an app! When Anthropomorphism, making things too human like, goes wrong
How the world could end – take two
We're all responsible for plastic pollution ─ and for cleaning it up
Correcting the record on China's economy
The sound of the stars
Food security in a precarious world
Will future generations turn away from alcohol?
The future threat from ancient viruses
Introducing "brubery" — bribery's other half
Some home truths about declining research productivity, innovation and disruption
Embracing serendipity and breaking free of algorithmic shackles
ChatGPT — the hype, the limitations and the potential
Deep Fakes and moral panic
Managerialism and our obsession with hierarchy
A global pandemic treaty; communication vulnerabilities; and talking to the animals
The climate change "winners"
Coming to terms with noise
Should we really aim for sustainable development?
Fashion’s fast future
The future of satire is no laughing matter
Forgetting, not memory, moves us forward
A Right to Disconnect ... from work
The cultural impact of streaming; and the "digital horder" within
The trouble with tech-driven farming
Noise: the invisible ocean pollutant
Should individuals bear the largest burden for climate action?
Why corporations need to think more about society and less about profit
The positive side of monitoring
The complexities of oversimplification
Community electricity grids and building better batteries
The Great Regression and the "kidification" of adulthood
New ways to move about cities
Understanding tech-facilitated abuse; and problems in space
Food security in a precarious world
Have data breaches become just another cost of business?
Air conditioning: keeping us cool but making the planet hotter
The opportunity costs of corporate welfare
Xenobots - the tiny robots with enormous potential
How ancient trees could help in the fight against climate change
Airships return to the skies and a serious problem that could cripple long-range space travel
The strange case of the trees that grow metal and how to harvest them
eDNA monitoring; 'telehealth' for animals; and using animals as early warning system for disasters
The Digital Self, Web3 and reclaiming your online identity
The real worth of net zero is debateable
Emotional Intelligence and the promise of a better workplace
Algorithmic audiencing, bioluminescent lighting and the virtues of a circular city
A non-proliferation treaty for fossil fuels
Reembracing the spirit of public service
Cities – the hot beds of evolution
Disinformation and propaganda in a time of conflict
The Earth BioGenome Project; the church of women; and what do we really think about facial recognition technology?
The population conundrum
Does data science need a Hippocratic oath?
Cliodynamics, the Hinge of History and why all history is revisionist
Big data and farming – the promise and the fear
A slow move towards a plastic free future
Are Sovereign Wealth Funds the best way of safeguarding the future?
Space-based Solar: energy above the clouds
The future of satire is no laughing matter
Forgetting, not memory, moves us forward