I've been a futurist for over 20 years, thinking and talking about the future, helping clients and other interested people around the world to understand the future, and to better prepare for what's coming. That's been a very good thing but I've recently come to an important conclusion: Much of the work of an independent futurist and keynote speaker focuses on the near-term or even obvious future scenarios and what they might mean for businesses, corporations and governments. And doing this work has been a really amazing and exciting mission – I've learned a lot and hopefully my clients have learned a lot as well:)

Yet I think there's something much more important than ‘the future of technology and business', and it's emerging everywhere right now: Two very big challenges/opportunities (yes, they're usually both, really) are already right in front of us (and many more are coming): The first one is climate change, and the second one is artificial intelligence. And I believe we have an estimated five year window to figure out how to design #thegoodfuture from this!

Dramatic action is needed. Clearly this pivotal moment calls for a focus on what really matters rather than on ‘digital transformation‘ and how to monetize technology:) Thus, I've made the decision to pursue a new mission as a #publicthinker, i.e. somebody who strives to think and talk about what really matters. Beyond AI, beyond technology, beyond trends, beyond the microcosm of commerce and technology.

And yes, of course business matters, tech matters, money matters, and stock markets matter. But what matters beyond all of that is how humanity (and the planet) is going to flourish in the future, and how we're going to be (become, remain?) more human not less. A public thinker (and dare one say, a public intellectual) is somebody who engages with the real world, in many ways going back to Aristotle.

Today, I think a public thinker is by default also a creator who shares stories and narratives, explains complex things, makes unique content such as books, films and videos, and shares his/her knowledge widely – and who has influence. Some examples of public thinkers that I often draw inspiration from: Ralph Waldo Emerson, E.O. Wilson, Daniel Kahneman, Jacques Attali, Ai Weiwei, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Hubbard, Kim Stanley Robinson, Bill McKibben, Alvin Toffler, Buckminster Fuller, Stephen Pinker, Scott Galloway and Ian Bremmer – kudos to these amazing people who do this job in some way or another (and please have a look at my recommended books list, here)

My principles as a public thinker will remain the same 4 P's I used as a Futurist: People, Planet, Purpose, and Prosperity – that's what I seek to ‘deeply think about‘, to define, to explain, and to create. Stay tuned!

Welcome to Public Thinker!

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