Ready for the Future?

Artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, virtual reality, self-driving cars, drones, robots, or the Internet of Things are a mainstay in the news, but are we ready for the future? Do we have the necessary skills, intellectual and psychological, to take advantage of these new technologies? Or do these technologies drive us over the edge?

Digital transformation and “deep tech” are multi-disciplinary topics—perhaps the most complex of our time. The purpose of this documentary film project is to start a conversation about the digital future and how humans fit in it. Is it complicated and inevitable, or can we finally create the future we want? 

The Documentary Project

Digital Transformation is a work in progress that consists of interviews with scientists, psychologists, artists, entrepreneurs, futurists, and authors in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan who speak about their views and hopes for the future. Technology offers amazing tools, many of them are useful, others less so, some even dangerous for our health and wellbeing. Can we cope with ever faster rates of change, mental stress, and the socio-economic and geopolitical paradigm shifts that new technologies unwittingly bring about?

This documentary project started in 2017. Its purpose is to feature diverse outlooks about the digital future and to encourage a lively conversation about the emerging role of technology in our lives.

Interviews

Interviews for this project take place with people who think about the impacts of technology on life and work in the digital age. So far, thought leaders from Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Austin, Toronto, Bern, Zurich, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, and Sydney have already participated.

Bob Noddin, Insurance Industry Executive, President and CEO, AIG Japan Holdings, Tokyo, Japan

Takashi Kudo, Member of Digital Arts Collective teamLab, Tokyo, Japan

Yueh-Hsuan Weng, Assistant Professor at the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

Yasuhisa Hirata, Professor of Robotics, Smart Robots Design Lab at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

Tadahiro Kawada, Developer and Manufacturer of Humanoid Robots, President, Kawada Technologies, Tokyo, Japan

Mark Kasuya, Cyborg/Robotics Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO, Meltin MMI, Tokyo, Japan

Yuko Harayama, Executive Member, Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan

Chandran Nair, Founder & CEO, Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT), Hong Kong

Eric Stryson, Managing Director, Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT), Hong Kong

Yimin Guan, Biotech Entrepreneur, Head of Biotech at the Shanghai Industrial Microtechnology Research Institute (SITRI), Shanghai, China

Richard Lemarchand, Game Designer, Associate Professor, Interactive Media & Games Division at the School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California

Peter Stone, Pioneer in Machine Learning, Multiagent Systems, and Robotics, Professor, Associate Chair, Department of Computer Science at The University of Texas in Austin

Bryon Jacob, Open Data Entrepreneur and Startup Mentor, Co-Founder, data.world, Austin, Texas

Mark Halverson, Entrepreneur and Advocate of Moral and Ethical Boundaries in Technology, Founder and CEO, Precision Autonomy, Austin, Texas

Hall T. Martin, Technology Investor, Startup Mentor, Entrepreneur, Founder, Texas Entrepreneur Network in Austin, Texas

Byron Reese, Serial Entrepreneur, Author, Futurist, Publisher of Gigaom, Austin, Texas

Kyle Robertson, Artificial Intelligence Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO, NarrativeDx, Austin, Texas

David Krakauer, Evolutionary Theorist, Mathematical Biologist, William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems and President at Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Geoffrey West, Theoretical Physicist, Distinguished Professor at Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Mirta Galesic, Psychologist with research focus in online communities and complex social phenomena, Professor in Human Social Dynamics at the Santa Fe Institute, , Santa Fe, New Mexico

Heather Desurvire, User & Player Experience Designer for Games, Founder, User Behavioristics, Los Angeles, California

Nichol Bradford, Game Developer, Entrepreneur, Executive Director of the Transformative Technology Lab at Sofia University, Palo Alto, California

Don Tapscott, Author, Futurist, Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Founder, Blockchain Research Lab, Toronto, Canada

John Markoff, Author, Senior Writer covering Technology and Silicon Valley at the New York Times, San Francisco, California

R “Ray” Wang, Author, Technology Analyst, Founder, Constellation Research, Cupertino, California

Steve Wilson, Digital Identity Innovator, Technology Analyst at Constellation Research, Cupertino, California

Martin Ford, Author, Futurist, Software Developer/Entrepreneur, Sunnyvale, California

David Edgerton, Professor of the History of Science and Technology and Professor of Modern British History, King’s College London, UK

Lars Thomsen, Chief Futurist at Future Matters, Zurich, Switzerland

Lino Guzzella, President of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and Professor of Thermotronics, Zurich, Switzerland

Johann Schneider-Ammann, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Bern, Switzerland

Press

 

A Project by Manuel Stagars

Manuel Stagars is a Swiss film director and author. His documentary films focus on science, innovation and technology and their impact on society.

www.manuelstagars.com

Special Thanks

Next to all interviewees, many people are supporting this project in many ways. Special thanks for your time, feedback, access to networks, and other help in the course of making this film! This list constantly updates as the project continues (list in alphabetical order).