Dubai Future Forum
“The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it and execute it.”
Dubai positions itself as an international leader in the future, living with current strategies that promote the city as a playground for innovation and an incubator for skilled talent. The city is fast becoming a digital economy hub due to its acceleration to focus on global minds and global needs. The United Arab Emirates is the largest investor on the planet for renewable solar energy, designing and executing potential futures. “The world in a country, rather than a country in the world.”, as Omar Sultan Al Olama states, solidifying Dubai as a landmark and their need to make decisions not for today but for tomorrow.
At the end of 2023, the Dubai Future Forum, held at the Museum of the Future, gathered future thinkers and industry leaders who came together to prepare and shape the future. The Future Forum covered four trajectories: Regenerating Nature, Empowering Generations, Transcending Collaboration, and Transforming Humanity.
In general, many spoke about the paradigm shift of new technologies, the role of youth and intergenerational fairness, future job sectors in space, AI, the urgency of climate change and biodiversity loss, and developing new value systems.
The four key themes:
Regenerating Nature, what if our planet’s revival was just a choice away?
Empowering Generations, what point are we at in the journey of empowering every generation?
Transcending Collaboration, what if we reframe the narrative of fear to one of collaboration with machine intelligence?
Transforming Humanity, as we step beyond the old, what wonders await humanity?
Dr, Angela Wilkinson at Dubai Future Forum
Image from the World Energy Council's Humanising Energy Series featuring Jaza Energy, a grantee of EEP Africa based in rural Tanzania that has hired an all-female team to manage its solar energy hubs.
Humanising energy
Angela Wilkinson stressed the importance of finding a middle movement in what is desirable and realistic in the world by bringing energy entrepreneurship to developing countries. We live in an era of grand transitions. And in emerging economies, they’re doing all this in parallel. Activating diversity is just as important as balancing security alongside climate change. Horizontal collaborations can humanise energy to make it faster and more equitable for far-reaching energy transitions.
The 26th World Energy Congress will be in Rotterdam on 22-25th April 2024. See more info here.
Dr. Angela Wilkinson of the World Energy Council discussed the energy transition. Currently, eighty per cent of global energy is still fossil fuel-powered, and fifty per cent of people think there is an urgent need for better collaboration for global course correction. Energy systems include people, and the role of people and the demand for energy use are easily overlooked. She says humans must be at the forefront of plans to address ongoing energy crises.
We are in a polarised era, frozen by fear of the future. Angela Wilkinson wrote the book Realistic Hope based on technocratic optimism: we will invent our way out of these impending crises. Despite the gloom, there is another way to look at the future; we don't have to be pessimistic or optimistic; we can find realistic hope.
The invited astronaut and cosmonaut panellists, team of Expedition 69
Astronaut Andreas Mogensen works out on the exercise cycle in Space
The astronauts also discussed their intense physical training, which is essential for advancing human capabilities in space. Resistance training, involving two and a half hours daily on multifunctional 'Swiss knife' gym equipment, was a requirement. Their self-conducted experiments (on bone density, muscle, blood) had the most significant scientific impact, underscoring the importance of physical maintenance aboard the ISS. This work prepares for life in space and the inclusion of commercial crews.
They shared that observing Earth from space offers a new perspective, revealing no borders and showcasing the thinness of Earth's atmosphere, highlighting the planet's fragility.
Learning from space travel
One of the highlights was the panel of astronauts and cosmonauts from MBRSC, NASA, and ROSCOSMOS. The eight were part of Expedition 69, a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). During this increment, they developed technologies, did more than 200 scientific experiments, planned spacewalks, and established new solar panels outside the space station. Due to the weightlessness of space, the first human cartilage was printed here using biological printers.
The team highlighted the importance of international collaboration and mutual dependency. Despite their differences, they can work towards a common goal for the future of human life, in accordance with the principle that single-planet species don’t survive.
TimeBanking participant, using their time for garden construction
Average American purchasing power has been eroded by 22.37% Since Jan 2020. Truflation timeframe.
How will we come to define currency?
One proposed approach for the future involves an alternative currency tied to resources or materials, leading to experimental economic models. Among these, TimeBanking has emerged as a noteworthy solution. This system considers time as a currency, where individuals earn tokens by assisting others in their community for a certain number of hours. Originating in the UK, TimeBanking was developed to address economic and social challenges. Such models challenge traditional notions of value and exchange, underscoring how technology can enable novel forms of economic interaction.
The concept of currency is evolving, and its foundations are under revision due to technological advancements. Sara Bird (TimeBanking UK), Stephan Rust (Truflation), and Yaser AbuShaban (Silver Peak Capital Advisors) speculated on the future of currency.
Decentralized, encrypted nodes of networks increased due to the difficulties experienced by e-commerce sellers. Do new technologies and solutions, such as blockchain and AI, create new and more equitable frameworks for value creation and offer new ways to conceptualize and measure value? As we transition to value-based commodities, how can we add sustainable value to the future of currencies?
World population by region based on the UN’s medium-fertility scenario, Our World in Data
Are we ready for peak humanity?
"The 'Population Pop Quiz' panel discussion explored strategies for adapting to future population shifts, featuring James Pomeroy (HSBC Global Economist), Narue Shiki (UNDP Futures Lead), and Prof. Alex Ezeh (Global Health, Drexel University).
The panel addressed how we should prepare for a world facing mass climate migration and increased environmental shocks. These challenges are intensifying, and the rise of digital nomads adds another layer of complexity. Policymakers have been reluctant to address the evolving needs stemming from population growth and declining birth rates in global economies. Women face tough choices between pursuing their ambitions and maintaining a family.
For younger generations, meeting these demands requires investment in human capital and rethinking immigration policies, especially in relation to an aging population. These issues need a holistic approach, and the narrative in Western economies that views migration as a threat needs to be deconstructed and reframed to see it as an opportunity or a possibility.
Minister of State for Government Development and Future, HE Ohood Al Roumi
How can policymakers meet the needs of future generations?
Day 2 zeroed in on the prospects of the human future, emphasizing our reliance on the humility and diversity of others to engineer longer lifespans and formulate policies benefiting future generations. This theme was particularly highlighted in Dubai, where HE Ohood Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and Future, discussed focusing on future generations.
More than 40% of Dubai's population is under the age of 30. The government is creating a 50-year strategy aimed at leading the global economy. This ambitious plan includes preparing future generations to adapt to a rapidly evolving world, equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the face of change.
Adjustable wavelength therapy
The rapid advancement in medical technology was highlighted during the Dubai Future Forum, thanks to technological progress. The Silicon Hospital is a new approach to rapid diagnosis and accessible healthcare, as Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen (CEO and Founder of Openwater) proposed. With consumer electronics, AI advancement, and silicon, the world of easy diagnostic care is close to becoming a reality. Openwater hopes to create a semi-based platform for medicine, addressing ninety per cent of the world’s diseases that kill us.
Jepsen’s radical belief is that silicon and software can replace drugs. By using adjustable wavelengths, new parameters of ultrasound can confront stroke, severe depression, and glioblastoma (tumour shrinkage). She emphasised that Moore’s Law can be used to develop technology and treatment further. Sharing safety data can also lower the cost of trails by three to ten times. By sharing risks across the platform and utilising Moore’s Law, everyone can better develop treatment and maintain the chips' prices.
CEO and Founder of Openwater, Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen
AI AI ethics forum with Melanie Subin, Emma Thwaites and Martin Müller, led by Akash Das
Human in the Loop
How can we foster ethical algorithmic decision-making processes? Speakers Emma Twaites (Open Data Institute), Dr. Martin Muller (Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator), and Melanie Subin (Future Today Institute) stated that we should remember that humans innovated new technologies and have the power to shape future tech to assist us and make the world a better place. Taking away human oversight for algorithms and data is a huge issue. There is a clear risk in algorithms that put capacity into the hands of bad actors, and legislation, regulations, and policymakers are slow. Everyone benefits from sharing science and contributing to the diversity in language models.
Melanie Subin argued that current AI systems are not well positioned to increase opportunities because humans apply old historical ways of thinking. Old patterns and systems are continuously used even if companies embrace new technology. To counter this, there are three strategies:
a separate transformation from processes by empowering innovation teams
create legal and regulatory processes by people who understand the technology
invite senior leadership to explore outside their bubbles and peer test in different industries.
Citizen scientists
Children will grow up in a world that will inhabit a world of crises. $8.2T was lost due to the global recession caused by the pandemic, and the effects will linger for decades. 1M species are at risk for extinction. William Hurley, founder of Strangeworks, discussed in his panel Citizen Scientists: From Playgrounds to Particle Physics how a lack of scientists is the root cause of most of the world’s crises.
There are 8.1 billion people on the planet (9.7 in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100), yet only 0.1 per cent of the planet are scientists. We need them for the future of our species. He asks us to imagine a world where everyone could be part of the scientific process to affect the world positively.
This is possible with the convergence of quantum computing and AI. AI results can scale exponentially by adding another cubit or another outcome in quantum computing. We can program computers with natural language with coding co-pilots that inspect and review.
The age of the citizen scientist will embrace this method, including children with their imagination, collaboration, curiosity, and innovation. Empowering children to contribute to the world's challenges indicates a shift in educational approaches and societal perceptions. A more hands-on, technology-based learning in education can create a new generation of problem-solvers who can address global challenges.
From Playgrounds to Particle Physics talk by William Whurley, Founder & Chief Executive Officer for Strangeworks
You can find video’s of the event here