A brief exploration into the how, why and when of stepping into immersive virtual reality and at what point that virtual reality becomes actual reality and vice versa.... children will accept any reality they are born into. 

 

WARNING: perhaps don't take a Solpadeine when trying to do a podcast as you may sound like you are already in that amniotic fluid... as Abi does.

With all those earnest 2020 predictions and 2019 'best of's, we thought we would do something a little different, ludicrous predictions; no plugs, no wires, no plugs just magic. Immortality, the Silicon Valley Caliphate, King China or will the internet will just break under all this pressure. Its all to play for.

Why do we need faster than superfast broadband? Is 5G going to change our lives? Will the countryside ever really catch up? Possibly not but throw in some charging rhinos and candy floss trees and we have plenty to talk about.

Or Analysis paralysis as it is called... mainly because it has a more catchy name! Why are we struggling to make decisions in the work place, how have meetings impacted this, and what should we do to counter it. Nike as we discover had the right attitude 'Just do it!'

A world of knowledge at our fingertips and we're watching cats fall off sofas. The internet and the way we consume data is actually rewiring our brain. This can’t be good. Or can it. Does memory give us a rich life and rich canvas from which to draw new ideas, or we can we use this knowledge and the rewiring of our to springboard into the future.

A discussion about the difference between UI & UX, is there such a thing as Dark UI, or is it just bad UX and does User Experience Design really work for small businesses. How can we take UX into the future now it is coming of age to look at the whole picture of us as people not just that instant dopamine hit for a user lining the pockets of giants.

WeWork's fall from grace, Airbnb rushing to IPO, nobody actually making any money. Who remembers the original crash of 2000 or the mobile phone crash or the bitcoin crash, electric bike crash anyone? We discuss the likelihood and as all good news channels at the moment hypothesise about what may happen.

Smart buildings, electric cars, renewable energy, it's all there so is it technology or the messaging and our habits that need to change? Technology in theory can help us clean up the mess we have made and prevent us from doing it again; but what about in practice? Which government will actually commit to saving our long term future over their short term goals - it seems a simple answer so why is no one doing it? Enter Greta Thunberg.

Or maybe the actual best solution to climate change is removing humans altogether... and perhaps farty cows - if we tasked an AI with solving climate change, would this be it's solution?

Who should regulate the tech industry? Ethics is not black and white, silicon valley should ‘do no evil’ but who defines evil? It is a minefield and a polarising topic, why are a vast majority of people so verbally against wrong doing of a company but physically don't change their habits? Should we be offered what we want even if it is not what we need and who should decide? We discuss the differences of government versus self regulation, morals versus ethics, and how an ethical framework needs to be put in place… soon.

This week we are discussing holograms; the difference between a hologram and holograph and if they will be the next big thing, or if the uses are somewhat gimmicky. Feeling we hadn't quite finished on genetic engineering and the power unlocking the gene sequence could give... think Mutants from X-Men... we meander through this enormous subject too, taking in VR & AR as we go.