Future Today

In this engaging conversation, Professor Dr. Michael Gerlich and Julian Phillips explore the profound implications of AI companionship, particularly in the context of writing and governance. Julian shares his unique experience of co-authoring a book with his AI companion, Athena, discussing the evolution of their relationship and the creative process involved. They delve into the potential role of AI in governance, the risks of cognitive offloading versus outsourcing, and the importance of maintaining human agency in the face of advancing technology. The discussion emphasizes the need for a balanced perspective on AI's capabilities and its impact on society.

Julian Phillips is a business leader, futurist, speaker and author of LevAIthan, a Brief History of Humanity and AI which he co-wrote with his AI companion, Athena. Having played his part in the computing, internet and smartphone technology revolutions, he believes that nothing can compare to what is about to happen with AI and robotics. What happens over the next few years will shape the destiny of the human species and he believes that urgent action is needed by all of us, today.

Nowadays, educators and students alike struggle with the use of generative AI. Research shows that the wrong use of generative AI can lead to reduced critical thinking, which nobody wants (https://doi.org/10.3390/data10110172). In this episode, we discuss with Pascal Mariany, one of the developers of EduGPT, how generative AI can be implemented in education, avoiding cognitive offloading. 

Pascal Mariany is a Dutch AI strategist, educator, and entrepreneur specializing in human-centered artificial intelligence for education. He is the CEO and co-founder of CivAI and the creator of EduGPT, a secure European AI learning environment designed to help institutions integrate AI responsibly while strengthening critical thinking and professional judgment. Alongside his work at CivAI, Pascal is a technical educational advisor through Education Oracle, where he supports schools in designing future-ready learning environments. With an early career as a physical education teacher, coaching and feedback literacy have always been central to his educational philosophy. Today, he focuses on combining feedback literacy with AI literacy, seeing powerful opportunities to enhance learning, deepen reflection, and support more intentional thinking with AI.

Pascal also serves as a senior lecturer in AI and educational innovation at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and is currently writing a book on human-centered AI in education. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pascalmariany/

In this exciting episode Prof. Dr. Gerlich discusses Space Biophysics with Prof. Dr. Porterfield and to what extent space exploration is today realistic.

Professor D. Marshall Porterfield is a Professor of Biological Engineering and Space Biophysics at Purdue University. His pioneering work explores how living systems adapt to the biophysical environment of space, from molecular and cellular stress to whole-organism responses. He develops innovative biosensors, bio-MEMS, and lab-on-a-chip technologies to support bioregenerative life support systems for deep-space exploration.

A former NASA Division Director (2012–2016), Dr. Porterfield led the Human Research, Physical Sciences, and Space Biology programmes, initiating the GeneLab Open Science platform and the NASA Twins Study. He now serves as Science PI for the Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF) payload for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission.

Recognised among the top 2% of scientists globally by the Stanford Survey, Dr. Porterfield is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research. His career bridges engineering and physiology to advance the future of life in space.

Together with Prof. Dr. Bert Wolfs, Academic Dean of SBS Swiss Business School we discuss wether or not Artificial Intelligence is upskilling its users or maybe the wrong use of AI is actually downskilling us. Join us in the discussion and listen what the experts say.

In this amazing episode with Associate Professor Jonathan Boymal, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing at RMIT University in Melbourne. Together with Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich, he discusses what we have to expect in our technologically fast-advancing future. Join us for an interesting conversation.

In this episode, Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich discusses with our guest Dr. Tricia Bertram Gallant the impact AI has on Higher Education. Dr. Tricia Bertram Gallant the  Director, Academic Integrity Office & Triton Testing Center at UC San Diego and President Emeritus at the international Center for Academic Integrity. She is the author of "The Opposite of Cheating - Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI". Join us for an exiting discussion.

In this episode we talk with Antonio Calco' Labruzzo, Global Head of Human Resources at Takeda TBS EREFP. We gain insights on Antonio's view on future topics including Artificial Intelligence. Come and listen.

In this episode Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich talks with Maximilian Ge the Innovation Entrepreneurship Ambassador at University of Cambridge about current new and expected upcoming innovations from the Cambridge ecosystem.

This episode discusses Prof. Dr. Gerlich's research on the impact of GenAI tools like Chat GPT on critical thinking and cognitive offloading. The research has been discussed worldwide by media outlets and especially educators relate to its results. The findings revealed a significant negative correlation between frequent AI tool usage and critical thinking abilities, mediated by increased cognitive offloading. Younger participants exhibited higher dependence on AI tools and lower critical thinking scores compared to older participants. Furthermore, higher educational attainment was associated with better critical thinking skills, regardless of AI usage. These results highlight the potential cognitive costs of AI tool reliance, emphasizing the need for educational strategies that promote critical engagement with AI technologies. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15010006

We discuss digital humans with Dr. Alberth, CEO of Aixa, what they are and how they are being used. Digital or virtual humans are human-like avatars that can interact with you in such a way that you might not even realize that it is not a real human.