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Gerd Leonhard

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Futurist & Humanist, Keynote Speaker & Author

Gerd is an avid futurist but also a passionate humanist; a philosopher and musician by training, as well as an early internet entrepreneur. He believes that technology can do amazing things, and that we should embrace it – but he also thinks we must urgently protect what makes us human. Gerd often points out that technology does not have ethics, that it is morally neutral until we use it (riffing-off W. Gibson), and that we need to invest as much in humanity than we invest in technology.

And that all breakthrough-technologies can be used both for human advancement, as well as to our detriment. To ensure that human flourishing remains the primary goal of all scientific and technological advances as we enter this era of exponential progress, we must evaluate, frame and govern technology wisely. Societies are driven by their technology but defined by their humanity!

Gerd Leonhard is not just a leading expert on the future, he is also a humanist who believes that all scientific and technological progress should further collective human flourishing. People, Planet, Purpose and Prosperity is Gerd’s credo. As Gerd likes to say, humanity will change more in the next 20 years than in the previous 300 years – let’s make sure that we can still maintain what makes us human. The second decade of the twenty-first century may not quite be the world of George Orwell, yet, but living in these times is certainly puzzling. Futurism used to be the study of the future, but nowadays it seems hard enough to read the present. Gerd Leonhard has spent his lifetime engaging with change, as a professional artist, internet entrepreneur, author and now as a visionary thinker and speaker.

Gerd is a leading Futurist & Humanist, a global Keynote Speaker, the Author of ‘Technology vs Humanity’ and a Film-Maker. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts in London, and the CEO of The Futures Agency in Zürich / Switzerland. “Embrace technology but don’t become it” is his credo.

Recent Publication

Technology vs. Humanity

Futurist Gerd Leonhard breaks new ground again by bringing together mankind’s urge to upgrade and automate everything—down to human biology itself—with our timeless quest for freedom and happiness. Before it’s too late, we must stop and ask the big questions: How do we embrace technology without becoming it? When it happens—gradually, then suddenly—the machine era will create the greatest watershed in human life on Earth. Technology vs. Humanity is one of the last moral maps we’ll get as humanity enters the Jurassic Park of Big Tech. Artificial intelligence. Cognitive computing. The Singularity. Digital obesity. Printed food. The Internet of Things. The death of privacy. The end of work-as-we-know-it, and radical longevity: The imminent clash between technology and humanity is already rushing towards us. What moral values are you prepared to stand up for—before being human alters its meaning forever? Gerd Leonhard is a new kind of futurist schooled in the humanities as much as in technology. In his most provocative book to date, he explores the exponential changes swamping our societies, providing rich insights and deep wisdom for business leaders, professionals and anyone with decisions to make in this new era. If you take being human for granted, press Reset now with this passionately argued call to create a genuinely braver new world.



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