The Human Interface | Anne Lise Kjaer

How are you doing? Great? Well, so am I. I mean, the weather is amazing. I just came from a complete contrast weather. I've just been to the Cayman Islands. So, it's from sunny 29 degrees. You can't wear your glasses - because they're completely covered with the dew. And then here. One of my big questions is, and I'd like for you to just sit down, - sort of feel the seats and just think about what is actually on your mind. What do you think most about again and again? What are the key topics that come to mind? I will share mine. AI is definitely one of them. I also think a lot about the well-being of people and the planet. I think about geopolitics. I also think about cybersecurity. And in the world that's going faster and faster, - what does the word culture mean? I also think this hyper-polarisation is another one. And they're all on my list of topics that we have to deal with right now. But when we look in a greater context, - in fact, short-termism is said to be one of the greatest challenges for humanity. And it's not just in the next decades. I mean, I don't do those short one- to two-year forecasts. It came to my mind how important it is to think in the long term - and think about what the world would look like - in 20, 50, a hundred years' time. I mean, just think for a moment. In a hundred years' time, there is a chance - that somebody might be alive who knew you. And what is it that you would like to be remembered for? A recent survey by PWC found that 40% of CEOs agree - that short-term shareholders are the greatest threat - to better corporate values and, should I say, also culture. So, when we think in the short term again and again, - we become firefighters rather than proactive change-makers. But the question is, of course, what are the tools that we can use - in order to think a little bit more in the long term? This timeline is the one that we have created, - and we rework it all the time. Today I made the focus a little bit on technology here in the centre. And as futurists, we like great tools. We look back to look forward, a great thing, past and present. Now, those are some of the most significant signposts - that we see today, - but also that we've seen when we go back. And then, also, how does it impact people? How does it impact organisations, the way we live and work? So, in 1929, the great economist John Maynard Keynes - set up in Cambridge in the UK, drafted his hundred-years forecast, - and foresaw technological unemployment. He also said that people will not really be working more - than 15 hours a week by 2030 because, as he put it, - we will have enough to lead the good life. The year 1950, a very interesting turning point - because a very important lecture was given by the AI pioneer Alan Turing. And this is when he came up with the imitation game. He asked a very important question, - "Can a machine fool a human into believing it is another human?" Interesting. The 1970s, many of us remember that time. How many of you remember the oil crisis in here? Two, three. So, you guys might be baby boomers. Well, I remember it because I was born in 1962, - just the back end of the baby boomers. There were two great forecasts. It was actually an executive at Shell, his name is Pierre Wack, - and he was very much into this idea - of scenarios and looking into the future, - and he foresaw those crises. In 1983, the Internet is born. And we haven't really looked back ever since. It hasn't been this nice, even curve of constant progress. There's been some bumps in the road. And I think with the 1990s, of course, - we see also already starting the technological, - social, and economic change in the landscape. Two books that I will advise everyone to read - if you want to look back to look into the future - is Alvin Toffler's Future Shock. The idea is that we get the future shock - because we are surprised by the premature arrival of the future. And I think we are a little bit in that state right now. He also wrote the book The Third Wave, a famous book - where he coined the term Information Age. And that book is said to be the sort of Bible - for many of the tech executives that moved to Silicon Valley. Now, the tech revolution has obviously not taken anybody by surprise, - but what we can say is that the last 30 years, - most growth has actually evolved around technology. And when we look back just to 1992, - six of today's major tech companies didn't exist back then. So, a little bit about the evolution of technology. Now, the last 20 years, we've seen a major transformation, - especially because it's so different from the past. We've also had that AI summit - that actually happened around the year 2000, - where we got more funding to AI. And in fact, this is a major game changer, - not just for leaders and organisations but also us as human beings. The future of software is obviously a very interesting topic. I will not talk too much about that because I'm not an expert, - but thank God there are a lot of them in the room. But I guess that ethical and sustainable coding - will be one of the key things we need to think about. And then, with the human in the loop, - because it is essential to foster systemic change. So, this is really just to give you an idea - of how we land in the past and the present - and actually have the right lens to look into the future. Presently, these frontier technologies - are sort of the green technologies that we look at, - and then the sort of wider aspect of technology. Those technologies could be worth 9,5 trillion dollars by 2030. And AI, of course, and the Internet of Things - are really key drivers of that. Digital is instrumental, I would say, - to enhance regional and global value chains. But also, when we adopt new security, - like decentralised application and blockchain - that will help advance security, a lot of people are asking, - "What should we worry about now with AI? What are the greatest challenges?" I will go a little bit more into that later on in my presentation. But I think that it's very much about improving trust - and data integrity - because many organisations, - what I've learned from many of the AI events I've been to, - they haven't even started the digital transformation journey yet. So, many people are actually behind. There is a huge monster out there that is called technology. We don't know how to adopt, how to integrate it. But obviously, we are in safe hands - because there are great minds out there that can help us on that journey. But when we speak about technology and online and AI, - I just want to put a notice - that still, a third of the global population is not online. Three billion people are not connected to online education, - access to be an entrepreneur on the Internet. They cannot even work on the Internet. That is one of the things that we say should be a human right. So, what we are looking at... I would say that we have a great responsibility - to use technology to make the world a better place. Everybody talks about future, but the future is now. I mean, fast adoption of generative AI has really raised concerns among many. We had it yesterday at dinner. Would we live in a world without work? Massive unemployment, skill gaps, security, - ethical, environmental impact, all of those. The list is long. But what we also will see - is of course, I would say, the idea - that we can automate coding, more complex tasks, - and free us a little bit to focus more on the human-centric design, - which I know we will hear more about also in the afternoon. To me, it's essential to question AI. We can't just adopt it. I've actually suggested in many forums - that we have a global digital constitution. I don't think it's going to happen, but it's nice to see - that many of the Nordics are leading in this conversation. Here, we see a future fast approaching with ASI, the superintelligence. In fact, Alvin Toffler was known for calling it 'the singularity'. And here, we can see the little line - of two AI winters and then the AI summer. This is really how fast it has happened. It is fast and furious, and there might be a scenario - where human intelligence is outperformed by super-intelligent machines, - according to Ray Kurzweil, who actually works with Google. It's already happening. Now, quantum computing is also one of the other things. I mean, NVIDIA are building those massive computers, - and I find them very interesting, but also somehow a bit scary. In fact, they are solving problems beyond classical computers, - and we will see more of that in the not-so-far future. Enough about the machines and the technology. Who are the people? I don't know if you in the background can read it here. The baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. Who are baby boomers here in the audience? No baby boomers. One baby boomer! Hey, we are a team! [Laughing] I guess the rest of you will be Generation X. That is basically... I can't really see it. It's 1965 to 1980. Any Gen X? Yeah, that's almost the rest of you. Then, what about the Millennials? Alright. Interesting, because our generation, us two, - our type of people, according to my son, we messed it all up. He is very angry sometimes when he sees what we've done. But in the US, the baby boomers - are controlling over half of the wealth, - and 3/4 of S&P 500 companies, are led by the baby boomers. But there's hope, ladies and gentlemen. Twenty-five years into the future, all Gen X and us too would be retiring. So, who is going to be leading the future? Well, it'll be the Millennials and the Gen Zs. They're also called the greater generation. And then we have the Generation Alpha and the Generation Beta. And I can't wait, just past midnight on January 2025, - the first Beta will see the world. In fact, those four generations will shape the future together. I know we have a tendency to look into the future and think - that the next generation will make it all happen, - but we need to actually plant the seed now and do it fast. They are basically going to think very different values - that are high on the agenda: diversity, curiosity, - creativity, collaboration, communities are some of the things - that they would be very passionate about. But also, they will drive the new thinking and values - that potentially will cause a system change. And you will hear me say that a lot: we need a systemic change, - because otherwise we will just do more of the same. We need to get out of our head and into our bodies - and actually for a moment just step up and think - about how it feels, all this stuff we are going to do. Now, I think that it's likely, and I think it's already happening, - that AI will be viewed more as a utility, - a little bit like electricity and plumbing. I mean, when we ask people, they're not so interested in technology. They just want it to work. How many of you, raise your hands, - think that AI will just be a utility - when we look ten years into the future, or be viewed as one? A few of you. I wonder what the rest of you think about it, - but we can talk about that in the break. I believe that the more things change, the more culture matters. I mean, everybody talks about culture, but what is culture? We are moving from a culture where everything is about utility, - and we are talking a lot about meaning or Purpose. And we need to rethink our purpose as individuals, - as leaders, as organisations. I mean, ask yourself, - why would people get up in the morning and go to work for your organisation? What drives them? I mean, why do you guys get up in the morning to go to work? How do you practice purpose? What is meaningful to people? What is actually meaningful? I think we have forgotten a little bit to ask that. This is why I'm very passionate about the School of Life in London. Do any of you guys know the School of Life in London? Three, four. So, I happen to live in London. And on Sunday, instead of just reading the newspaper, - I might drop into a local little, they often have them in churches, - and then I call them the School of Life sermons, - and they have invited inspiring speakers - to talk about topics that they're passionate about. The founder, a Swiss philosopher called Alain de Botton, - he believes that the pursuit of happiness, - fulfilment, and human flourishing is the future of business. And I think that's interesting. He set up the School of Life maybe 20 years ago, - and his idea was, together with a group of friends, - some writers, an artist, a psychologist, - to teach people emotional intelligence. He was teaching mundane things, like how to have a holiday at home, - how to have dinner together, - how to tend your garden, more mindful things. And I think that is an inspiring way to look at the future. If we did that a little bit more inside organisations, - would that then be enough to create a whole new way - and meaningful purpose to go to work? Curiosity is another thing that I think you can't... Without curiosity, you can't create new things. The School of Life use both philosophy and curiosity - to communicate good ideas for everyday life. Now... According to research, - curiosity actually matters, and you can see it on the bottom line. Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computers in Texas, - was once asked, - "What would be the most important leadership skills of the future?" And guess what? He said, "I will place my bet on curiosity". As you can see from this quote, - it's also how they get things done inside the company. They use curiosity to look at new opportunities. And this is how they've always mapped their future roadmap. Another thing that also comes to mind - is that leaders that I find, they are empathic. I can sort of check it out because of the way they ask a question. They look you straight in the eye. They don't come from the head, it's from the heart. They're generally interested in you. And in fact, empathic leaders also score very high on curiosity. Now... How do we tap into the thinking needed to make that all happen, - all that nice fluffy stuff I'm talking about? Well, it's a good way to have a mini methodology. I call this whole-brain thinking or multidimensional thinking. And it's about how you balance, - I would say, activate and balance right- and left-brain thinking. It's very important in problem-solving skills. It's key to critical thinking. But it's also how you ask more inspiring and informed questions - in the present about the future. We need to ask the right questions as futurists, - but also as leaders and organisations. We use this methodology in everything we say and do. It's basically about trying to understand - how we can activate our curiosity and creativity. Also, one very important thing, when we think about the future, - we have to think in futures, because there isn't just one - but potentially many different futures ahead. You ask leaders of today's organisations, - I'm happy to say that four in five of CEOs will tell you - that they spend more time than ever - looking into foresight and scenario work. I'm sure that you will hear lots of quotes from Jensen Huang today. He says, "Never stop asking questions and seeking answers." "Curiosity fuels progress". Somehow this makes sense. People sometimes tell me, "We've seen something similar", - but I actually added the 4P business model. Many of you, all engineers in Sweden, are taught about the three P's, - people, planet, profit. But I wanted to, in a way, take it into the next century. John Elkington, a dear friend of mine, - when he saw my proposal, as he was the one behind the tree P's, - he said, "I like yours a bit more. I like that purpose bit". But it's very much about once you balance people and planet - and you have a purpose to match that, - then, of course, you will feed into your environment - rather than just feeding off it. And that would lead to sustainable performance. All of that thinking, we use this to scan trends. And in fact, just to... You will have my presentation. We created a little analogue toolkit - to sort of think, work, and play like a futurist. And all of those little icons there, - we created a set of postcards from the future. I show you this because I think it's really nice also - to get out of your head and into your body - and play around with different scenarios. Foresight is a powerful tool, - but it doesn't happen in an Excel spread - or just asking AI, "Give me four future scenarios". You can do that forever, and something comes out, - but there's not that right human energy in it. And trust me, we use AI all the time, and we love to beat it. We love to create something a little bit better. So, we use them a little bit as our assistants. When we look at trends, we have the left-brain thinking here. How many of you work with trends, by the way, on a daily basis? Again, one over there. One, two, three. Wow. They all seem to be working for Eficode, and there was another person there. Great. I mean... A very quick insight, how do we work with trend? There's something called a PESTLE analysis. We actually put this bottom line here, - politics, economics, society, - technology, environment, and legislation. That is a classical PESTLE analysis. But ladies and gentlemen, that is no longer enough, - hasn't been for many years. We also need to dive into people's emotional landscape and their values. That's what the spiritual dimension is about. It's not about religion, it's simply about values. And when we look at the trend atlas, you could view it as a poster - with all the core building blocks shaping tomorrow's society, - because it's safe to say that all of those trends - are already visible today. The question is just, how will they impact tomorrow? For this presentation today, - we decided to cherry-pick some trends from the Trend Atlas - to put them into a Risk & Opportunities sort of matrix map - in order to just say those are some of the things that we cannot ignore. They are the most influential drivers, and I'm sure you can add a few more - with the postcards or some wild card. You could start to populate this map and make it even better. It is not whether it's this, that, or the other. The point is, get started today to create the future you want to see. And the writing is on the wall. There's multiple factors at play, as I started to say in the beginning. They're all on the horizon, and it is complex. Now, what we see here is that it's an interconnected world. We must not forget the human-centric, I would say, dimension. What is also a very important thing to always understand, - if we have the four P's, - ask yourself when you create scenarios, "Is this good for people?" "Is it good for the planet?" "Has it got a meaningful purpose?" If that's true, it probably will feed into the environment - rather than feeding off it. That was a quick crash course - in how to think, work, and play like a futurist. So, you guys are all futurists now. When we look at what's happening out there... I mean, who here have never watched a TED Talk? Wow, that's interesting. When we ask people about the future and also why they go to work, - they say, "We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves." "We want to go to work and have meaningful conversations." "We want to go to work and feel inspired". And this is all about the human connection, right? This festival is Wall Street Journal's The Future of Everything Festival. It's a festival where everybody gets together. Of course, the readers, the customers, the subscribers, - but also change-makers in the world, inspiring leaders. I think they even had Snoop Dogg there, an entrepreneur. All of that is a little forum to get people together - to talk about the future they want. The Guardian in the UK, where I live, also had some fantastic events. I went to one of those events. They had a dance psychologist - teaching you to dance behind the seat, all of that. But it's really very muc