Episode 70: Scientific Breakthroughs
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Looking Outside is for curious people looking for a fresh take on familiar topics, in business and beyond.
In this episode of Looking Outside we’re going back to the past and into the future - exploring the biggest transformative breakthroughs in science and technology that have and are transforming civilizations and societal values. Historian and futurist Jamie Metzl joins us to step into the world of science innovation, and equally to take a step back to see the bigger picture of human evolution. A leading voice in science and medicine, Jamie shares how our biological limitations are also our greatest strength – we continue to enhance ourselves, and our way of life, through technology, in order to to adapt to future environments. Emerging breakthroughs however, Jamie says, should not be viewed in isolation but in the context of converging factors, considering their negative consequences and their unforeseen upsides, based on the bigger ecosystem of interconnected industries. We no longer live in a ‘natural world’ and there is no going back to the ‘way things were’, so we must accept that change is a part of our human future.
To look outside, Jamie seeks moment of uninterrupted focus, where he can avoid or ignore distraction. He says this kind of intense focus is harder to obtain, and is not aspirational, especially for those of us who constantly seek out new information. Alongside stepping back, Jamie steps into and goes deeper into areas he’s less familiar with, especially those he finds frightening.
Jamie Metzl is one of the world’s leading authorities on the implications of the intersecting AI, genetics, and biotechnology revolutions and how governments, corporations, organizations, and individuals can ride the wave of these unprecedented transformations to build their best possible futures. A technology and healthcare futurist and geopolitical expert, he is author of the international bestseller, Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity, the sci-fi thrillers Genesis Code and Eternal Sonata, and his highly-anticipated new book, Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World.
Jamie is Founder and Chair of the global social movement, OneShared.World, a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council, a faculty member of NextMed Health, and a Singularity University expert. Jamie previously served in the U.S. National Security Council, State Department, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and as a Human Rights Officer for the United Nations in Cambodia. In 2019, he was appointed to the World Health Organization expert advisory committee on human genome editing.
A former partner in a global private equity firm, Jamie helped establish and serves as Special Strategist for the WisdomTree BioRevolution Exchange Traded Fund (ticker: WDNA) and sits on the advisory boards of Genomic Prediction, Harvard Medical School Preventive Genomics, the Lake Nona Impact Forum, NextMed Health, the Dubai Future Forum, and Walmart’s Future of Retail Policy Lab. He is also the Honorary Global Investment Ambassador of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Jamie speaks frequently to corporate, nonprofit, and academic audiences around the world and was an opening keynote speaker at the 2023 Dubai Future Forum, the largest gathering of futurists in history.
Learn more about Jamie at jamiemetzl.com
Grab a copy of Jamie's book Superconvergence
Check out his other books on Amazon
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