Charlie shares her hot picks of 30 films (out of over 150) to watch at this year's Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival taking place September 20-25 (virtually and online). 

If you missed the festival, fret not. The movies (which are all independent and, primarily, short films) will likely still be available online, if not on the festival site then elsewhere. There's some great picks here with something for everyone.

As a way of exploring the narratives around accelerating emerging technologies, we've produced several scifi themed events including What Sci-Fi Movies Can Teach Us About Socially Responsible Innovation, The Future of Human/Robot Relationships & Conflicts with Dan Chen – a Screening of Automataand, and Using Science Fiction to Predict the Future Impact of Emerging Technologies. These have been some of our most popular events.

Here's her blog post with complete list of 30 films:  http://bit.ly/top30scifi

In this episode, Charlie has a happy reunion with Erik Martin (Chief Community Officer at Teal, a membership platform to help enable meaningful careers) . Charlie last interviewed Erik 10 years ago for a viral media Meetup in NY. Clearly, a lot has changed since then!

Erik is a true innovator in community building in tech. He has spent the past decade building and cultivating some of the most successful communities in business. In addition to leading teams at Nike,  Depop, Airtime, & WeWork, Erik was General Manager at Reddit and the company's fifth employee. 

Charlie and Erik shoot the breeze about the mindblowing changes in in tech over the past ten years and how we will build communities in the post-COVID era. Topics they discuss include:

• how emerging technologies are changing how we define and cultivate communities;
• how children are building communities today differently than prior generations (online, etc.);
• the challenges of managing a community in a society that is becoming increasingly splintered;
• how our assumptions and beliefs about who we are and what we are becoming are changing through new community models;
• new models of community building and engagement;
• the ethics of building communities on platforms owned by big companies;
• how companies can build engaging communities responsibly;
• why smaller communities are becoming the preferred model over larger, hard-to-manage communities.

ABOUT ERIK MARTIN

Erik Martin is a community management expert who has led teams at Nike, reddit, Depop, Airtime, & WeWork. He's currently the Chief Community Officer at Teal, a membership platform to help enable meaningful careers. Prior to Teal, he was a Lead Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Nike.

Erik was the longtime General Manager at reddit and the company's 5th employee. As noted in the recent book about reddit, We Are The Nerds, "Martin was the company's first nontechnical leader and managed to create a cohesive group and grow it into a strong if scrappy creative force…Martin quickly became an empowering boss. In the eyes of his employees, he was honest, compassionate, and creative. He encouraged employees to explore new concepts by giving them tools to learn, and then challenging them to produce something that would benefit the site or its community."

He's been named one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time Magazine and a top 50 innovator by Adweek. In a profile, The Washington Post said this about Erik, "It can't be understated how poorly Martin fits the start-up culture stereotypes: the extravagance, the arrogance. He's not overtly extroverted or introverted; he's a quietish, funny, normal dude." Before his internet addiction fully took hold, he worked as an aspiring documentary filmmaker, and then transitioned to marketing documentary and independent films. Erik was born in Switzerland, grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, and lives in Portland, OR.

CONNECT WITH ERIK:

• Twitter: @hueypriest
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikmartin/

  REACH OUT TO THE SHOW:

Website: https://tech2025.com/fast-forward-podcast/ Twitter: @fastforward2025 Instagram: @fastforward2025 Facebook: http://bit.ly/fastforwardfacebook Email: [email protected] Charlie on Twitter:  @itscomplicatedCharlie on Instagram:  @charlieoliverbk Charlie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlieoliverny

On this episode, Charlie crowns Greg Kihlström "King of Agile" and with good reason! Greg (founder of The Agile World where he consults, writes and hosts a podcast) has spent the past several years helping companies to incorporate agility into their digital transformation strategies and also advising on customer and employee experience.

He has written several books on how companies can become more agile including: The Agile Workforce (2021), Center of Experience (2020), The Agile Consumer (2019), Digital Delight, 2nd edition (2019), The Agile Brand (2018), Ever Seeking (2018), The Agile Web (2016). 

Greg and Charlie discuss what it means to be agile during and post-pandemic, how companies should navigate bringing employees back to the office in a way that optimizes employee experience, and how the pandemic is forcing companies to innovate in ways they never imagined before the pandemic (and why that's great but also challenging). 

ABOUT GREG  

Greg is a best selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He has worked with some of the world's leading organizations on customer experience, employee experience, and digital transformation initiatives, both before and after selling his award-winning digital experience agency, Carousel30, in 2017.  He has worked with some of the world's top brands, including AOL, Choice Hotels, Coca-Cola, Dell, FedEx, GEICO, Marriott, MTV, Starbucks, Toyota and VMware. He currently serves on the University of Richmond's Customer Experience Advisory Board, was the founding Chair of the American Advertising Federation's National Innovation Committee, and served on the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business Marketing Mentorship Advisory Board.  Greg is Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified, and holds a certification in Business Agility from ICP-BAF.

Greg's newest book, The Agile Workforce (2021) explores the current and future state of the workforce and envisions a world where individuals thrive in a new world of work opportunities enabled by technology, decentralization, and a shift in the power dynamics between employers and employees. His previous book, The Center of Experience (2020) talks about how customer and employee experience can be operationalized into a cohesive brand experience.

Greg was named a 2018 50 on Fire winner from DC Inno as one of DC's trendsetters in Marketing. He is a regular contributing writer to Forbes, and has been featured in publications such as Advertising Age, SmartCEO, Website Magazine, and The Washington Post. He's participated as a keynote speaker, panelist and moderator at industry events around the world.

CONNECT WITH GREG:

• Website: https://www.theagile.world/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/snyderjen/
• The Agile World Podcast:  https://bit.ly/3yeAZWh
• His Books: https://www.theagile.world/writing 
• Twitter: @gregkihlstrom

REACH OUT TO THE SHOW:

Website: https://tech2025.com/fast-forward-podcast/ Twitter: @fastforward2025 Instagram: @fastforward2025 Facebook: http://bit.ly/fastforwardfacebook Email: [email protected] Charlie on Twitter:  @itscomplicatedCharlie on Instagram:  @charlieoliverbk Charlie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlieoliverny

This week, Charlie makes a strong case for why anyone who is interested in technology innovation should be following GovTech closely and consistently. According to new research, thanks to the pandemic governments (federal, state and local) are out-innovating the private sector in many areas. Could this be the dawn of a new era in government innovation? You betcha!

Joining the Charlie to explore how government agencies are adapting to innovating at the speed of light (and why private companies will be stealing tech talent from government agencies) is Jennifer Snyder (Chief Evanglist at GovQA). 

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER:

• Twitter:  @jensnyder05
• GovQA Website: https://www.govqa.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/snyderjen/

LINKS TO GOVTECH RESOURCES:

• Charlie's favorite govtech podcast, Federal Drive: https://bit.ly/3hhzsYK
• GovTech News: https://www.govtech.com/news
• FedScoop: https://www.fedscoop.com/
• Federal News Podcast:  https://bit.ly/3ycfRQK
• NextGov Tech News: https://www.nextgov.com/

REACH OUT TO THE SHOW:

Website: https://tech2025.com/fast-forward-podcast/ Twitter: @fastforward2025 Instagram: @fastforward2025 Facebook: http://bit.ly/fastforwardfacebook Email: [email protected] Charlie on Twitter:  @itscomplicatedCharlie on Instagram:  @charlieoliverbk Charlie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlieoliverny

"I want to empower every day people to be empowered to have conversations about the technology that affecting their life and the ability to both ask good questions and get good answers so we get to the point where, collectively, we begin to build technologies we want. " — Dr. Andrew Maynard

.

Charlie is thrilled to welcome Dr. Andrew Maynard (former physicist, professor in the Arizona State University School for the Future of Innovation in Society, leading expert in the responsible development of emerging and converging technologies, and Tech 2025 advisor) for our very first tech news roundup episode where we recap the news on the implementation and impact of emerging technologies (the good, the bad, and the ugly!).

Breakdown:

• Upcoming events announcements including our next event, Prototyping the Future: Technologies Driving Disruption in New York's Manufacturing & Supply Chain Ecosystem (August 14, 6-8pm), and Return on Creativity, Return on the Future" (Friday August 16, Arlington, VA) where Charlie will be speaking on consumer experience and marketing;
• Charlie briefly interviews Andrew about his upcoming book, what he's learned about writing a book and engaging the public in discourse on the ethics of tech. Andrew also discusses his upcoming book.
• News Roundup! Charlie and Andrew discuss five news items that everyone is talking about and give their feedback (the good, the bad, and the ugly);
• They close out the show by each giving their suggestion for an "under the radar" story that we should be keeping an eye on in the coming week.

 

News Stories Discussed:

1. In Hong Kong Protests, Faces Become Weapons (New York Times)
2. Why I'm turning my son into a cyborg (Quartz)
3. Cambridge Analytica made "ethical mistakes" because it was too focused on regulation, former COO says (Vox)
4. Why Google employees are donating to Warren and Sanders — presidential candidates who want to break up Google (Vox) and Why 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang doesn't want to break up Google (Recode)
5. New bill would ban autoplay videos and endless scrolling in  (The Verge)

Under the Radar Stories:

1. Suggested by Andrew: Sorry, scooters aren't so climate-friendly after all (Technology Review)
2. Top Secret Military-Grade Surveillance Drones Might Be Coming To Your Neighborhood (Observer)

ABOUT DR. ANDREW MAYNARD

Andrew Maynard is a former physicist, a professor in the Arizona State University School for the Future of Innovation in Society, and leading expert in the responsible development of emerging and converging technologies. For over twenty years he has worked closely with experts and thought leaders from around the world on the challenges and opportunities presented by technologies ranging from nanotechnology and synthetic biology to geoengineering and artificial intelligence. Andrew's a sought-out speaker and commentator on emerging and converging technologies, and writes regularly about science and technology for popular audiences. His work has appeared on platforms ranging from Popular Science and Scientific American, to Slate, Salon, and Huffington Post. He also writes the blog 2020 Science, and produces the YouTube channel Risk Bites. He is @2020science on Twitter.

Wearing his academic hat, Andrew directs of the ASU Risk Innovation Lab, and chairs the ASU Master of Science and Technology Policy program. He is widely published in the academic literature, including in leading journals such as Nature, and is internationally recognized for his work on the risks and benefits of nanotechnology. He has testified before congressional committees on a number of occasions, and served on various National Academy of Sciences committees. Andrew is actively involved with the World Economic Forum, and previously chaired the Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies. He has a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Connect with Andrew:

• Andrew's profile page at ASU
• Risk Innovation Lab
• ORCID (papers)
• Google Scholar
• Academic Curriculum Vitae
• Articles on The Conversaton
• YouTube (Risk Bites)
• YouTube (Science Showcase)
• 2020 Science
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter (@2020science)
• School for the Future of Innovation in Society

REACH OUT TO US AT:

Become a Tech 2025 member: bit.ly/t25member Website: tech2025.com/podcast-show Twitter: @JoinTech2025 Instagram: @jointech2025 Facebook: facebook.com/jointech2025 Email: [email protected] Charlie Oliver: Twitter – @itscomplicated

It's a bit of a reunion on this episode as AI Ethicist and cohost of Let's Chat Ethics podcast, Oriana Meldicott, who taught a workshop at Tech 2025 two years ago, reconnects with Charlie to discuss all things AI ethics.

After much laughter and reminiscing, Charlie and Oriana delve into the thorny, controversial issues surrounding AI ethics today and in the future (especially with the next generations).

ABOUT ORIANA

Oriana Medlicott is a writer, researcher and consultant in AI Ethics. Passionate about the future of technology, philosophy and art; she believes ethics should be a critical focal point in the design, development and deployment of new technologies. Oriana is part of the research team of the Z-Inspection project started by Roberto V. Zicari at Goethe University and sits on the advisory board for the AI Ethics Journal at the University of California.

Oriana graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a Masters in Philosophy, her thesis focused on the effects of Biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence on Human Nature. She is currently enrolled in CodeOp Data Analytics bootcamp to develop her technical skills.

CONNECT WITH ORIANA:

Let's Chat Ethics podcast: linkedin.com/in/oriana-medlicott LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oriana-medlicott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/orianajanem   

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Episode of Let's Chat Ethics Podcast featuring Charlie:  https://spoti.fi/3x8TM4Q 
• All Tech is Human: https://alltechishuman.org
• Event: Jobs of the Future – If Software Is Eating the World, Who's Going to Feed the Beast? (June 24): https://bit.ly/nocodejobs

REACH OUT TO THE SHOW:

• Website: https://tech2025.com/fast-forward-podcast/
• Twitter: @fastforward2025
• Instagram: @fastforward2025
• Facebook: http://bit.ly/fastforwardfacebook
• Email: [email protected]
• Charlie on Twitter:  @itscomplicated
• Charlie on Instagram:  @charlieoliverbk
• Charlie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlieoliverny

Joining the podcast this week is Paul Spiers (Founder, The New P&L Brand Purpose Institute and host of The New P&L business podcast series).

Charlie and Paul delve deep into the waters of what it means to be a substantive and effective business leader today, that can lead organizations into the future post-pandemic. You definitely don't want to miss this one. Paul has some fascinating insights and advice!

CONNECT WITH PAUL:

Website: https://www.principlesandleadership.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulspiers/YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBnswAM2tQB05Ly98g_a03w

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Episode of P&L Podcast featuring Charlie:  https://spoti.fi/3vZYIJ6

Event: Citizen Development at Work – Upskilling Employees and Transforming Enterprises (June 10):  https://bit.ly/3fPvdE5

Event: Jobs of the Future – If Software Is Eating the World, Who's Going to Feed the Beast? (June 24): https://bit.ly/nocodejobs

REACH OUT TO THE SHOW:

Website: https://tech2025.com/fast-forward-podcast/ Twitter: @fastforward2025 Instagram: @fastforward2025 Facebook: http://bit.ly/fastforwardfacebook Email: [email protected] Charlie on Twitter:  @itscomplicatedCharlie on Instagram:  @charlieoliverbk Charlie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlieoliverny

In this special second episode in our series on next-gen innovators, Charlie chats with Anya Berlova.

Anya Berlova is a student at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder and an entrepreneur who launched her social cause startup in her freshman year of college. Her startup focuses on combatting bullying in a creative and technology-driven way. To support the development of the technology and to further raise awareness for the mission, she launched a fashion label, Anya Berlova Designs.

Anya started her brand because she had a mission: to combat bullying and encourage people to show their uniqueness and unique selves. She believes that one of the keys to a bullying-free society is for every person to build confidence around their individuality and not succumb to any fear surrounding the expression of who they are. She hopes to inspire YOU to #ShowYourUnique!

Charlie and Anya discuss:

• her passion for innovation and what drove her to launch a social cause startup on anti-bullying;
• how the pandemic has changed school life and what the long-term impact will likely be to higher education;
• why she sees a silver "digital" lining in the pandemic;
• why communication and data privacy is of particular interest to her when thinking about the post-pandemic future

  CONNECT WITH ANYA:

Website: https://anyaberlova.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anya-berlova/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/anyaberlovaofficial/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/anyaberlovaofficial/ YouTube:  https://bit.ly/3a64JLK

REACH OUT TO THE SHOW:

Website: https://tech2025.com/fast-forward-podcast/ Twitter: @fastforward2025 Instagram: @fastforward2025 Facebook: https://bit.ly/fastforwardfacebook Email: [email protected] Charlie on Twitter:  @itscomplicatedCharlie on Instagram:  @charlieoliverbk Charlie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlieoliverny

In this special episode (one of two dedicated to next-generation innovators), Charlie welcomes young legend, Amara Leggett (19-year-old computer scientist, CEO of Dual Enrollment Company, and author of The Strategic Mind of a Young Legend).

Amara's path to success at the young age of 19 is truly exceptional. She graduated college in December of 2017 with her Associate of Science degree and high school diploma at 16 years old. Driven by ambition and experience making the impossible possible (thanks in no small part to her mother who is an entrepreneur), she soon began helping other students to define and achieve education goals by launching her own company, A Young Legend, and Dual Enrollment Company. In addition to being a sought-after public speaker where she has spoken at TEDx, corporations, and universities on everything from building a brand to Generation Z insights, Amara also authored a book, The Strategic Mind of a Young Legend.

Charlie and Amara discuss:

• developing the next generation of innovators and why Generation Z is exceptional;
• why and how she decided, at the age of 13, to define her life through the lens of building a legacy;
• her love of emerging technology (and focus on cybersecurity and quantum cryptology), problem-solving, and how to nurture this love in young people early;
• the challenges of being on lockdown and graduating college in a "pandemic recession";
• launching a startup offering alternative methods of energy sources;
• and the future, of course! 

Question of the Week: How are the young people in your life who are Amara's age processing the pandemic and their role now? How has it changed how they see the future?

LINKS MENTIONED DURING SHOW:

Amara's TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2inO7P1rgQI Amara's Book:  The Strategic Mind of a Young Legend Article:  The class of 2020 was full of hope. Then the pandemic hit. Article:  Over 6 in 10 Business Leaders Have Slowed College Hiring Due to COVID-19 Article:  'A Slap in the Face': The Pandemic Disrupts Young Oil CareersArticle:  The quest for quantum-proof encryption just made a leap forward Article:  Volunteerism can help solve the employee morale crisis

CONNECT WITH AMARA:

Website: https://www.ayounglegend.com/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amaraleggett Email:  [email protected]

REACH OUT TO THE SHOW:

Website: https://tech2025.com/fast-forward-podcast/ Twitter: @fastforward2025 Instagram: @fastforward2025 Facebook: https://bit.ly/fastforwardfacebook Email: [email protected] Charlie on Twitter:  @itscomplicatedCharlie on Instagram:  @charlieoliverbk Charlie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlieoliverny

Dan Christensen (aka "Bus Driver Dan") loves his job driving a bus for TriMet bus company in Portland, Oregon, and is fiercely and unapologetically proud of his Blue Collar roots. He also embraces emerging technology and is constantly exploring new and innovative ways to use technology to tell "the stories of the now."

In this episode, Charlie and Dan meet face-to-face for the first time (albeit virtually via video). As the story goes, Charlie and Dan met in social media 11 years ago after she stumbled across his popular transit blog (before most people even knew what a blog was!) where he shared stories about his life as a bus driver, highlighting the human side of the passengers who rode his bus every day. For over a decade, Dan has used emerging technologies and mixed media to tell stories that resonate with an ever-growing audience and to explore his own creativity.  He continues to experiment with immersive storytelling and is well on his way to building his "media empire about bus drivers around the world."

Dan and Charlie discuss:

• why he's proud of blue-collar roots and what society gets wrong about blue-collar workers
• transit technology innovation through the years and how it has empowered him to tell human stories and grow an audience
• how COVID-19 has changed what it means to be an "essential worker" and how he does his job
• the technologies we can expect to see disrupting transportation in the next few years and which ones excite him (and which ones are "meh")
• FAKEovation 😏
• staying connected in an increasingly disconnected world
• the struggle to stay true to your story and resist the temptation to create false narratives

As Dan would say, "Roll easy!"

LINKS MENTIONED DURING SHOW:

Charlie's blog post about Dan: If Ralph Kramden Had a Blog (March 2009) Follow Dan on Twitter: @Dan_Christensen The Honeymooners Episode 11: A Promotion The Honeymooners Theme Song: You're My Greatest Love Article: Covid Wears On, Essential Workers Carry On: 'Everybody Forgets That You're Still on the Front Line' Article: COVID-19 Fueled Innovation in Public Transit Solutions Resource: New York City Transit Innovation AcceleratorReddit:  Bus Driver Appreciation Reddit:  Bus drivers of Reddit, what is something you wish customers knew or would do more? Reddit:  I am a Former Pubic Transit Bus Driver - Ask Me Anything Bus Driver Forum: http://forum.bustalk.info/

REACH OUT TO THE SHOW:

Website: https://tech2025.com/fast-forward-podcast/ Twitter: @fastforward2025 Instagram: @fastforward2025 Facebook: https://bit.ly/fastforwardfacebook Email: [email protected] Charlie on Twitter:  @itscomplicatedCharlie on Instagram:  @charlieoliverbk Charlie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlieoliverny