The World Beyond – Michael Mack and the Emotioneers of Tomorrow

Marcus Ernst & Simon Alexanderson

“There are still a lot of challenges left, especially when it comes to these emotional parts, I think much of it is about directing the AI in a natural way” - Simon Alexanderson is an acclaimed researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and also Co-Founder of Motorica AI. His current project "MoGen" has just won an AUREA Award and is considered by experts to be a revolutionary AI technology for motion-based 3D animations. Podcast host Marcus Ernst, one of the Emotioneers from MACK One, takes you on an exciting journey into the world beyond: How will AI affect the creative industry? What exactly makes it so complicated to make an AI created character dance to the beat of music or gesturing in sync with speech? And what would Star Wars or Jurassic Park look like if this technology had already existed back then? Simon provides answers: „Our current technology allows users to quickly generate high-quality locomotion mixing between more than 150 styles“. Discover the magic of AI generated ultra realistic moving 3D characters in this episode!

Michael Mack & Kathleen Cohen

„I think there is a push back and an awareness from this next generation. They wants to unplug and have no online presence what so ever. The radical idea is not being plugged in.“ - Kathleen Cohen is known as a genius tech humanist and XR immersive strategist, bringing over 25 years of expertise in designing user and guest experiences. Throughout her career, Kathleen has held roles as a creative and producer at DreamWorks Interactive, the IBM Centers for Innovation and Disney Parks & Resorts. Podcast host Michael Mack discusses with her one of the big questions of our time: In a world that is increasingly driven by immersive technologies in which the boundaries between reality and virtuality are blurring, are we not close to losing contact with the profound essence of real human relationships? Get the answers right here!

Michael Mack & Prof. Patrick Glauner

„I wish policy makers actually not just regulated AI, but used AI in their daily work” - let's jump straight into the second part of the extraordinary conversation between podcast host Michael Mack and the German AI mastermind Prof. Patrick Glauner. One of the most important AI-driven topics of the future: Health Care. The expert from the Institute of Technology in Deggendorf is desperately waiting for more applications in health care, like personalized drug development: „Personalized drugs in future would be very helpful, could reduce damage and maybe the time you need to recover.“ In this podcast episode we also take a deeper look at the german company „skyrocket.ai“ (of which Patrick Glauner is the founder) and the Heidelberg based start-up „Aleph Alpha“. Buckle up and press play!

Michael Mack & Prof. Patrick Glauner

„We in Europe are often driven by fear, in China AI is seen as a huge opportunity“ - Prof. Patrick Glauner is a distinguished expert for artificial Intelligence and professor at the Institute of Technology in Deggendorf. Join podcast host Michael Mack as he talks with one of the world's leading data experts about this groundbreaking technology: „It’s a problem if you have politicians who claim AI as unsafe. A lot of people are scared of AI because of the terminator movies.“ Profoundly shape your view on artificial intelligence and don’t miss this extraordinary conversation about digital transformation within healthcare and the role of ChatGPT. Also, as a mathematics expert, Professor Glauner knows the limits of artificial intelligence: „AI is not a silver bullet.“

Michael Mack & Eve Weston

"VR provides the opportunity to bring the viewer into the storyworld and even make him a character in the show” - professor Eve Weston is a metaverse expert, storytelling consultant and a genius writer and producer. She teaches screenwriting and VR filmmaking at Chapman University, Los Angeles Film School and Emerson College L.A. and was awarded at CES 2020 for creating and producing the world's first VR Sitcom “BizNest”. Listen to this exciting conversation between podcast host Michael Mack and Eve Weston, talking about the overarching goal to infuse human emotions into the digital universe and utilizing storytelling as a powerful tool for positive change: „Combining cutting edge technology and intelligent storytelling creates the opportunity, not only to just watch the show you love, you can hang out with the characters in the show, it’s like hanging out with your friends”. Eve Westons mega trend for 2024: „People will explore immersive storytelling in the real world“.

Michael Mack & Thor Pedersen

“There are two types of really important educations in the world: formal education and education you get from life and travel” - let's start straight away with part 2 of the inspiring conversation between podcast host Michael Mack and adventurer Thor Pedersen. He holds the world record of having traveled to every single country in the world without flying: “In the next years I think people will travel domestically and locally a lot more.“ Learn more about the impact that traveling and meeting people has on our lives and why technology isn't always the best way to connect people. What Thor observed on his travels to all 203 countries: „Everywhere you always see people looking at their phones. We can make ourselves lonely thru technology.“ Jump right in and listen to this very special episode of THE WORLD BEYOND with world traveler Thor Pedersen!

Michael Mack & Thor Pedersen

Ten years ago, Thor Pedersen embarked on his epic journey "Once Upon a Saga" with a self-imposed rule to not return to Denmark until his mission was completed: to travel every single country in the world entirely without flying. After visiting his 203rd and final country, the Maldives, he’s back home with a world record in his pocket: “I didn’t leave home thinking that I had a 100 percent success rate of coming back home alive.” Join podcast host Michael Mack as he talks with Thor about the most important learnings from his incredible adventure: „If you want to achieve a goal in life, a key ingredient is never to give up. I had an option of being the man who quit and the man who did it.” Profoundly shape your worldview and don’t miss this extraordinary conversation about a giant adventure, countless cultures and a unique connection to the people of the world!

Michael Mack & Debi Wong

Debi Wong is an interdisciplinary performance artist who loves to combine sound, text, movement and technology to create contemporary stories. She is the founding artistic director of re:Naissance Opera in Vancouver, BC. While she was a guest during AUREA Award at Europa Park, she spoke to podcast host Michael Mack about the future of opera, performing arts and the impact of technology on this industry: „If someone says ‚that’s not opera to me‘, I know I’ve crossed a line and I should keep going. I wanna feel like I’m playing Zelda when I go to an opera.“ Jump right in and listen to this extraordinary conversation about groundbreaking new ideas for immersive experiences.

Michael Mack & Caitlin Krause

Get ready for the extraordinary Live Podcast from the AUREA Award at Europa Park in Rust! Podcast host Michael Mack ist taking you on a journey into the future: His very special guest flew straight in from Stanford University: Caitlin Krause. She’s a renowned specialist in VR and AR, an expert for artificial intelligence and a genius mind in creating effective applications of immersive storytelling to executives, fostering creativity and imagination. „What I find exciting about emotion is that every meaningful experience that we have in life is encoded with emotion.“ Jump right in and listen to this very special episode of THE WORLD BEYOND in front of an attentive live audience who will also be part of the conversation with their questions.

Michael Mack & Marcus Ernst

Marcus Ernst works for MACK Interactive as project manager for YULLBE, Europa-Park's own location based virtual reality experience. Also, he is the project manager of the AUREA Award: From January 17th to 19th, the brightest minds in immersive tech and XR coming together at Europa Park in Rust to lookout for the most successful companies, people and ideas in the market to award their success, resilience and positive impact. Join podcast host Michael Mack and his guest talking about this years AUREA Award highlights: Who are the secret special guests? How are the winners selected? Who is part of the jury? Find the answers right here. Looking ahead: Next Friday there will be a special edition of THE WORLD BEYOND - tune in to our live podcast directly from the AUREA Award!