The Near Futurist

2020 is done, dusted and can close the door on its way out, it won't be missed. But as we look forward to vaccines and a gradual return to normality it's worth taking stock of where your data is stored, who has it and what they're using it for. Chris Strand of Intsights talks Near Futurist Guy Clapperton through some of the issues. And a happy New Year to our listeners - we saw huge growth in 2020...

Anders Kohn of Aula speaks to Guy Clapperton about how students need more interactivity in their lectures, particularly in the online world. It's not about a generation gap, however - he discusses learnings from Facebook, Slack and how the changes had been coming anyway. This fortnightly podcast will now take a break until the New Year as the next one would otherwise be in the week before Christma...

We've been working from home for months and there is more of it to come. Just to cheer us up even more Chris Morales, head of security analytics for Vectra, says a load of our commonly-used apps may be insecure. He offers tips on what to do about this and they're not difficult.  If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (99+) The Near Futu...

Coronavirus has changed many things, one of which is that business and public sector have had to think "digital first". Returning guest Galina Antova, co-founder of Claroty, discusses how organisations coped depending on whether they were already thinking in those terms or suddenly had it forced on them. Antova is actually the first guest to come back for more on this podcast - which is as good a...

Where are we with sustainable energy and how can we improve? James Kirk, CTO of ENSEK, talks figures, sustainability and data with near futurist Guy Clapperton. Thank you for listening. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk -...

Author Kate Baucherel discusses her new book, Blockchain Hurricane, along with banking, durian fruit and science fiction writing with Near Futurist presenter Guy Clapperton. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you l...

Drones are here already and there are going to be a lot more of them, very quickly. In this episode I speak to Amit Ganjoo, founder and CEO of drone management company ANRA Technology about the practicalities of having loads of vehicles in the air. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedI...

A short while ago automated consultations with doctors were conducted over Skype and used video, but this doesn't solve the problem. Dr. Murray Ellender of eConsult explains to Guy Clapperton why the format needs to change - and looks to adopt a new model for sustainability. Note to non-British listeners: "GP" or "General Practitioner" is what we call a family doctor in the UK; NHS is a common abb...

It helps with epilepsy and arthritis, Portugal and California have noted no upticks in crime rate since liberalisation - so is it time to look again at marijuana as a medicine? I speak to Dr. Charlie Easmon of Harley Street about where the controversies are and how we're likely to move forward. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (99...

Lockdown is increasingly eased and the exhibition and event industry wants to come back. Its clients are mad keen to get on with it too - but will people want to come back and rub shoulders with...actually, just rub shoulders? James Tucker, chief operating officer of events company GovNet, tells this episode of the #nearfuturist about how events are going virtual, blended, hybrid... If you enjoyed...

The shops, pubs and cinemas are back albeit in altered forms and they need our money - which we also need because so many households have less than £1500 in savings. Good luck with that if your boiler breaks down. In this episode of the #nearfuturist I speak to Kathryn Wright of Upside Saving about how apps and open banking can help. The Near Futurist has been gaining listeners during lockdown. If...

In case you've been hiding, shopping is back for non-essential goods BUT not everyone wants to go. So what are the options for the shopper who wants to make a considered purchase so just a click on a website won't do? In this episode I speak to Aman Khurana, co-founder of Go Instore, about how technology can play its part. This podcast has been hitting higher numbers than ever during the lockdown...

Carbon footprints are an issue and have gone down during lockdown, so how do we continue to reduce them as we emerge? Near futurist podcaster Guy Clapperton talks to Siemens' Faye Bowser about what her company has done, what it advises its large clients and what smaller companies can do. If you enjoyed this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (99+) Th...

Hearing aids can be stigmatised because they're associated with growing old - meanwhile the effects of hearing isolation on mental health can be profound. In this episode of the Near Futurist podcast I speak to Nick Hunn, chair of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, about moves to combine hearing aids with earbuds and turn them into something fun. You can buy glasses as a fashion statement when...

Many schools in the UK were back this week but only for certain year groups. In this Near Futurist podcast Guy Clapperton talks to Quizlet's UK Country Manager Rahim Hirji about his own experience teaching his kids at home and how some technology, including his company's own, is going to help. If you enjoyed this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (9...

With everybody under lockdown and entire households simultaneously on Zoom and Netflix, to say nothing of the business sector, you could be forgiven for expecting the Internet to slow down and collapse under the weight. It hasn't. In this podcast Near Futurist Guy Clapperton chats to Angie Mistretta, CMO at AppDynamics, about what's gone right and what businesses and individuals need to do to keep...

Nobody is kidding themselves that the retail market is going to be the same when Lockdown has stopped - names will vanish, already-squeezed margins will shrink. This is why retail consultant Meredith O'Shaughnessy thinks shops will have to focus on experience rather than shifting items - she tells near futurist Guy Clapperton more. A slightly earlier release than normal as our usual Friday would c...

Sexting, grooming, bullying - we all know what can happen to our children online and we hate it. In this edition, Neil Fairbrother of the SafeToNet Foundation talks Guy Clapperton through some of the practical steps people can take if they are concerned about their kids' security online and outlines the changes coming up in the legislation. If you enjoyed this or would like to feed back/suggest fu...

Obviously everyone is isolated and technology is helping with the educational needs of the young. However, in this episode of the Near Futurist podcast, Sparx CEO Dan Sandhu tells Guy Clapperton that once people understand all of the possibilities being opened up, they won't want to go back to old fashioned learning. He's not an #AI geek, he isn't advocating scrapping the classrooms. Instead he ca...

Near Futurist Guy Clapperton speaks to London Dynamics founder and ex Ikea AR expert Michael Valdsgaard about how we're going to be buying our furniture and other items in the near future - and the good news is that you don't have to go out. If you enjoyed this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Als...

Near Futurist Guy Clapperton interviews Etay Maor, chief tehnology officer of security specialist IntSights. They explore mistakes people make but Maor also identifies a number of common errors that aren't commonly reported - for example, how often do you remember to change passwords but still have all the 'reset' routines aimed at your gmail account? If you enjoyed this or would like to feed back...

Why do organisations treat learning tasks as if they were still at school? This isn't the best way to assimilate skills, believes Steve Dineen, head of Fuse Universal. He talks us through experiential learning, why video can just repeat the mistakes we make on audio and a great deal else in this conversation with Near Futurist Guy Clapperton. If you like waht you hear, why not leave a review on th...

In the early nineties Bill Gates wrote that we'd all be working remotely from home because of the Information Superhighway, and yet tech companies at least still cluster together. In this episode, Near Futurist Guy Clapperton speaks to Ben Brabyn, chief executive and investor advisor of Canary Wharf's huge technology hub, Level 39 in One Canada Square, about why this should be - and the conversati...

There is a perception out there that artificial intelligence is ethically neutral - but can it be? Kyle Dent of PARC thinks not and he is involved in the company's ethics committee as a result, and he wants to help the AI industry overall. He tells near futurist Guy Clapperton about it. If you enjoyed this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group?  (99+) The...