Future Tense
Episodes
Growing houses and running computers with help from bacteria — the future of synthetic biology
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists are changing the genetics of cells so that they can be used for a whole range of purposes never before imagined. Think building a biocompu...
Building a new social contract
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a growing public sense that the current model of the social contract is broken, due in large part to rising inequality and the pursuit of p...
The Great Regression and the "kidification" of adulthood
21 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Many commentators bemoan the adolescent nature of modern society. Adults, they suggest, are acting like juveniles and thereby eroding our culture and...
Research productivity and innovation is declining
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our modern understanding of innovation isn't modern at all, it turns out. Historian, Iwan Rhys Morus, says we're being held back by Victorian-era not...
Managerialism ... and what it means for work
07 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Exploring new ideas, new approaches, new technologies — the edge of change.
Turning our back on alcohol
31 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Are attitudes towards drinking changing as we learn more about the impact alcohol can have on our bodies? Drinking has been part of our social and cu...
Who are the beneficiaries of climate change?
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It might be an uncomfortable idea for many, but in the short term climate change will produce "winners" as well as losers. Some countries, companies,...
The Great Plunder – curbing human creativity through mass theft
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Technology companies aren’t just stealing your intellectual property – your creative content - they’re making vast profits out of selling it ba...
Sweltering Cities – the cost of exponential urbanisation
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's estimated that by 2050 more than 70 per cent of the world's population will live in cities. Urbanisation carries many benefits, but it also thre...
Technology churn versus digital Inclusion
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The constant upgrading of technology is wearing people down — one in five Australians now saying they feel "overwhelmed" by technological change, a...
How ancient trees could help in the fight against climate change
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike animals, trees don't have a biological clock, under ideal conditions they can live for thousands of years. Scientists say understanding how an...
Why knowing when to finish is as important as getting started
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Future Tense – why charities should have a limited future… getting academics and researchers to think about the end of their r...
The great scan — mapping below Earth's surface
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Austrian archaeologist, Immo Trinks, has a grand ambition – to map the entire landscape of Europe, below ground! The 3D scanning technology he's us...
Giving old technology a future-focussed twist
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The hydrofoil looks set for a second coming – as a ferry. The boats, which are fitted with skis and electric batteries, literally plane across the ...
Cory Doctorow: Platform capitalism and the curse of "enshittification"
29 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon now feels more like a racket than an open shopping platform; you can't find posts from your friends on Facebook because it's clogged with unso...
Architecture's AI crossroads
22 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Advanced Artificial Intelligence and new digital technologies are revolutionising the architectural industry. Architects in Brisbane, for example, ha...
People have to solve the climate crisis — technology alone is not the answer
15 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Science and technology cannot solve our most challenging and complex environmental problems. At least not on their own, not without a greater emphasi...
China's plan for a digital currency will have global implications
08 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Chinese Government, and its Central Bank, are currently experimenting with a digital currency. The hope is that it will make financial transactio...
Worshipping a divine AI and turning outer space into an art gallery
01 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's only a matter of time before people start worshipping Artificial Intelligence as a religion, that's what Philosopher and ethicist, Neil McArthur...
The normalisation of economic warfare
24 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Geoeconomic confrontation" ranks as one of the most severe risks facing the world, according to a recent World Economic Forum report. Trade is incre...
Considering unintended consequences is the new crucial skill for the 21th century
17 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In our uber-connected world, the development and management of really anything is becoming increasingly complex. Planning for the future has to invol...
The complexities of oversimplification
10 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have technologists lost the art of keeping it simple? Do the devices they design actually make our lives more complicated, not less? Striving for sim...
The Circular Economy approach – thinking systemically about the environment
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Much of the way we think about the economy and our environment is based on a linear model – a system of extraction, consumption and waste. But advo...
Should you pay to drive into your city centre — for the sake of the climate?
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Authorities in New York city are planning to introduce a congestion pricing scheme. Vehicles entering certain parts of Manhattan will soon have to pa...
Rethinking productivity and the pushback to shareholder capitalism
20 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's time to rethink what we mean by productivity, says work futurist, Dominic Price. What's important isn't output, but outcomes. And confusing the ...
Acoustic restoration of ecosystems — how the sound of love helps animals return to old habitats
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists are experimenting with sound to try and lure seabirds back to depleted environments. But not just any sounds – we're talking about the c...
Air conditioning: keeping us cool but making the planet hotter
06 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Around two billion air conditioners are currently in use across the globe but the amount of electricity they use is not sustainable, so what are some...
Algorithmic Intimacy – self-love, liability and babies as click bait
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chatbots and other forms of interactive AI aren't just shaping our online preferences, they're gradually redefining the contours of what we mean by l...
Self-destructive behaviour — the enemy within
23 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why do otherwise sensible people continue to do things that are bad for them, that impact negatively on their personal future? Also, what happens in ...
The first ever drop in global energy sector emissions; and the battle for our brains
16 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
2023 could be the year we finally reach a tipping point in the fight against climate change. The energy think-tank Ember predicts global greenhouse g...
Should individuals bear the largest burden for climate action?
09 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Exploring new ideas, new approaches, new technologies — the edge of change.
Cory Doctorow: Platform capitalism and the curse of "enshittification"
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon now feels more like a racket than an open shopping platform; you can't find posts from your friends on Facebook because it's clogged with unso...
A new lifeline for local news
25 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Exploring new ideas, new approaches, new technologies — the edge of change.
How Japan is redefining its military defence
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Japan has long prided itself on its pacifist constitution. The country's future after WW II was defined by Article 9 which famously denounced aggress...
Can mining the ocean floor go ahead without regulations?
11 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Global permission to mine the ocean floor — the International Seabed Authority will soon meet and decide whether or not to allow seabed exploitatio...
Designing buildings for disasters
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How best to build our homes so they can better withstand natural disasters? It's not just about designing for floods or fire, for example, but creati...
Robots + bees = pollination
28 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Robobees and building more hives – there's no easy solution to the global decline in bee population numbers and associated problems with pollinatio...
Advanced AI – are we repeating the mistakes of the past?
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Toby Walsh is an expert on Artificial Intelligence. He recently declined an offer to sign an open letter calling for a moratorium on the technology's...
Falling in love with an app! When Anthropomorphism, making things too human like, goes wrong
14 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
22-year old Effy lost her best friend and romantic pen pal unexpectedly. Liam was the victim of a change of algorithms — and he wasn't the only hum...
How the world could end – take two
07 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More than a decade ago scientist Dirk Schulze-Makuch plotted nine plausible ways by which humanity would cease to exist. Now he's revised his list an...
We're all responsible for plastic pollution ─ and for cleaning it up
30 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Citizen scientists across the world have joined forces to map the microplastic crisis in our oceans. It comes as a UN agency moves to create a global...
Correcting the record on China's economy
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Beijing likes to trumpet its economic clout. And as the second largest economy in the world there's no denying its power and influence. But the Chine...
The sound of the stars
16 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Understanding the universe isn't just about visually mapping celestial bodies, it's also about listening to the heavens. Data sonification takes astr...
Food security in a precarious world
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As food security issues increase across the world, expenditure on agri-food research and development is going the other way – in fact, funding in s...
Will future generations turn away from alcohol?
02 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Are attitudes towards drinking changing as we learn more about the impact alcohol can have on our bodies? Drinking has been part of our social and cu...
The future threat from ancient viruses
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Arctic permafrost is melting, and ancient viruses and bacteria are gradually being freed from the ice. The risks are significant, and it's only o...
Introducing "brubery" — bribery's other half
19 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bribery involves using money to try and buy a person's favour, but what do you call it when someone uses their resources not to win someone over, but...
Some home truths about declining research productivity, innovation and disruption
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our modern understanding of innovation isn't modern at all, it turns out. Historian, Iwan Rhys Morus, says we're being held back by Victorian-era not...
Embracing serendipity and breaking free of algorithmic shackles
05 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Clive Thompson has invented a new search tool called the Weird Old Book Finder. It's about… finding weird old books, what else? It's also about emb...
ChatGPT — the hype, the limitations and the potential
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
ChatGPT is a controversial new language assistant powered by AI. It can write essays, do coding and even structure complex research briefs, all in a ...
Deep Fakes and moral panic
19 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Deep fake videos and audio are growing in sophistication and the technology to make them is readily available online. Many fear they damage our abili...
Managerialism and our obsession with hierarchy
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Managerialism is a Neo-liberal philosophy that critics accuse of bloating both the public and private sectors with unnecessary management.It's also a...
A global pandemic treaty; communication vulnerabilities; and talking to the animals
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The world will soon have a universal pandemic treaty, but will all countries sign on and will it prevent future lockdowns? Also, how vulnerable are o...
The climate change "winners"
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It might be an uncomfortable idea for many, but in the short term climate change will produce "winners" as well as losers. Some countries, companies,...
Coming to terms with noise
22 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When the global pandemic struck the world’s major cities were plunged into silence. But were they? New research casts doubt on just how quiet it re...
Should we really aim for sustainable development?
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The terms “sustainability” and “sustainable development” are now so commonplace as to be meaningless – according to the sceptics. Worse sti...
Fashion’s fast future
08 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fashion is no longer du jour – of the day – it’s of the second. Online platforms are using real-time data and analytics to micro-target what we...
The future of satire is no laughing matter
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Satire is society’s release valve and it allows us to reflect on just about anything. It’s been around for thousands of years, but social media, ...
Forgetting, not memory, moves us forward
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Forgetting is the only safe response to the world's problems, from a geopolitical perspective, according to author and journalist David Rieff. Someti...
A Right to Disconnect ... from work
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A global push is underway to try and install a Right to Disconnect – allowing workers to strike a healthier balance between work-time and own-time....
The cultural impact of streaming; and the "digital horder" within
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Australian writers and screen producers fear a significant cultural loss unless US streaming services are forced to increase local content. Quotas of...
The trouble with tech-driven farming
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New technologies are transforming agriculture, but getting farmers to experiment with different tech combinations remains an issue. A technologically...
Noise: the invisible ocean pollutant
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We used to think our oceans were largely silent but sound is one of the most important senses for marine life. It helps animals feed, breed, communic...
Should individuals bear the largest burden for climate action?
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's a common refrain: we all have a responsibility to deal with climate change. But does putting the onus on individuals risk allowing governments a...
Why corporations need to think more about society and less about profit
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Do corporations have a role in promoting the common good? Legal expert William Magnuson says they once did and now need to rediscover their true soci...
The positive side of monitoring
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Surveillance has become mainstream in the 21st century. It’s now so ubiquitous that many of us no longer notice its intrusion in our personal lives...
The complexities of oversimplification
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have technologists lost the art of keeping it simple? Do the devices they design actually make our lives more complicated, not less? Striving for sim...
Community electricity grids and building better batteries
23 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the consumers of power also become its generators a whole new level of complexity opens up. The transition from fossil fuels means completely re...
The Great Regression and the "kidification" of adulthood
16 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many commentators bemoan the adolescent nature of modern society. Adults, they suggest, are acting like juveniles and thereby eroding our culture and...
New ways to move about cities
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The way we are getting around cities is changing. There’s strong developer competition in the flying taxis market; the overall size of vehicles is ...
Understanding tech-facilitated abuse; and problems in space
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Abuse facilitated by digital technology is on the rise. Abuse is abuse, no matter who commits it and what form it takes, but we need to better unders...
Food security in a precarious world
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As food security issues increase across the world, expenditure on agri-food research and development is going the other way – in fact, funding in s...
Have data breaches become just another cost of business?
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Data breaches are on the rise, and it seems social media is a growing point of vulnerability. The consequences aren’t just financial, in some cases...
Air conditioning: keeping us cool but making the planet hotter
10 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Around two billion air conditioners are currently in use across the globe but the amount of electricity they use is not sustainable, so what are some...
The opportunity costs of corporate welfare
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Public money is being used to bankroll already wealthy private corporations. So, is there any real benefit to taxpayers?
Xenobots - the tiny robots with enormous potential
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
They’re small, robotic in nature and formed from living frog cells. Xenobots could play an important part in future health care treatments. But w...
How ancient trees could help in the fight against climate change
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike animals, trees don't have a biological clock, under ideal conditions they can live for thousands of years. Scientists say understanding how an...
Airships return to the skies and a serious problem that could cripple long-range space travel
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
They were once the very symbol of modernity, but over the past eighty years, Airships have become objects of curiosity and nostalgia. Now, several ne...
The strange case of the trees that grow metal and how to harvest them
07 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Agromining is a new process for extracting large quantities of metals such as cobalt and nickel from the sap and leaves of rare plants known as hyper...
eDNA monitoring; 'telehealth' for animals; and using animals as early warning system for disasters
31 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists have perfected a system for better sampling animal DNA in the wild. The new process promises a less-invasive way of measuring biodiversity...
The Digital Self, Web3 and reclaiming your online identity
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How is our sense of identity changing as our online and offline experiences increasingly merge? What grounds a person’s online persona (or personas...
The real worth of net zero is debateable
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Net Zero isn’t just a climate target, it’s become a badge of commitment in the global effort to bring down Greenhouse Gas emissions. But its real...
Emotional Intelligence and the promise of a better workplace
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s not enough to be smart. If you’re to avoid being automated out of a job in future, you’ll need to develop your Emotional Intelligence. New...
Algorithmic audiencing, bioluminescent lighting and the virtues of a circular city
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We examine the role algorithms play in limiting free-speech; we hear about the development of bacteria-driven lighting in France; we explore how the ...
A non-proliferation treaty for fossil fuels
26 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to attack the “supply side” of fossil fuels, activists argue. And the best way to do that is by establishing a fuel non-proliferation...
Reembracing the spirit of public service
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Future is Public is a global campaign aimed at creating a new narrative around public service. It’s about curbing the dominance of Neoliberalis...
Cities – the hot beds of evolution
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Urban life has not only reshaped what it means to be human, cities are also changing animals. Rats in different parts of New York are evolving separa...
Disinformation and propaganda in a time of conflict
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The crisis in Ukraine, like all wars, is a testing ground for new tactics and weapons. It’s also a conflict fought off the battlefield – on peopl...
The Earth BioGenome Project; the church of women; and what do we really think about facial recognition technology?
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this program we explore an ambitious science project aimed at to documenting the genomes of all known creatures; we'll hear why the future of the ...
The population conundrum
22 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Concerns that we'll soon have too many people on the Earth sit alongside apprehension that we are facing a looming demographic crisis. So how do we a...
Does data science need a Hippocratic oath?
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The use and misuse of our data can have enormous personal and societal consequences, so what ethical constraints are there on data scientists?
Cliodynamics, the Hinge of History and why all history is revisionist
08 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The idea that history is circular is called Cliodynamics and it’s currently in vogue with many commentators on international affairs. But do such t...
Big data and farming – the promise and the fear
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Boosting your productivity by up to 25% - what industry wouldn't want to do that? That’s the future big tech promises for agriculture – one where...
A slow move towards a plastic free future
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past two decades we’ve become increasingly sensitive to the overuse of plastic and more concerned about its environmental impact – but t...
Are Sovereign Wealth Funds the best way of safeguarding the future?
17 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are currently around 150 of these funds in the world worth in excess of $USD 9 trillion.
Space-based Solar: energy above the clouds
10 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists are busy testing ways to build a giant solar farm in space. Also, what to do about the increasing levels of space junk finding its way int...
The future of satire is no laughing matter
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Satire has been around for thousands of years, but is its power dwindling?
Forgetting, not memory, moves us forward
27 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Forgetting is the only safe response to the world's problems, from a geopolitical perspective, according to author and journalist David Rieff. And fo...
When development aid goes wrong - propping up bad regimes
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For many people, the provision of overseas aid is a democratic imperative and a universal good. But what if the situation is more complicated than ...
The fall of cash & the rise of central bank digital currencies
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Physical cash still plays an important role in the financial system, but could it be replaced by a digital alternative? Governments around the world ...