Future Tense

Designing a futuristic city is a fraught task — a mixture of ambition, state of the art technology, inevitable budget blowouts and the need to not just inspire, but awe. We get an update on the progress of two mega metropolises — Xiongan in China and Neom in Saudi Arabia. Also, how a better understanding of the brain can help deter future conflicts.GuestsDr Andrew Stokols — Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, Singapore Management UniversityEliot Brown — London-based reporter, Wall Street JournalDr Nicholas Wright — Neuroscientist, University College London and Georgetown University

The global Covid 19 lockdown may seem like an eternity ago, but the threat of another full-scale pandemic has never resided.  Scientists warn that as the Arctic permafrost continues to melt ancient viruses and bacteria are gradually being freed from the ice. The risks are significant, but researchers are working to identify potential threats and better prepare the world for future pandemics. Uppermost in many minds is the need to ensure future global cooperation in the event of another zoonotic outbreak. Original broadcast on March 26, 2023.GuestsDr Christine Prat – Director of Operations, European Virus Archive Dr Jean-Michel Claverie – Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Aix-Marseille University Dr Aaron Bernstein – Director, The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 

Negotiations over a global treaty on microplastics have broken down. So, where to from here for one of the world's biggest environmental threats? We also get an update on new efforts to clean-up the cement production industry; and we look at AI chatbots and the increasing role they're playing as sources of advice and emotional support.GuestsDr Pratik Sachdeva — Senior Data Scientist, D-Lab, University of California, BerkeleyDr Shababa Selim — Senior Technology Analyst, IDTechEXProfessor Paul Fennell — Professor of Clean Energy, Imperial College LondonProfessor Jill Newby — Clinical psychologist, The Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales

It's exactly three years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene. In that short period of time the process of academic assessment has been in upheaval. Across the world educators are trying to address how students should be assessed and whether AI can be used for more than just helping a student to cheat. But a growing number of education researchers say the real emphasis should be on promoting critical thinking and ensuring future students learn how to learn.GuestsProfessor Dragan Gasevic — Head of the Centre for Learning Analytics, Monash UniversityProfessor Neil Selwyn — School of Education, Culture and Society, Monash UniversityProfessor Rupert Wegerif — Faculty of Education, University of CambridgeProfessor Phillip Dawson — Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning, Deakin University

In this programme we hear three thoughtful perspectives on the threat digital technologies pose for democracy. Henry Farrell from Johns Hopkins University argues disinformation must be tackled at a group level, not an individual one. Philosopher, John Tasioulas, says modern representative democracy is too easily corrupted by big tech. And AI specialist, Marcus Beard, introduces us to the phenomenon he calls "slopaganda".GuestsProfessor John Tasioulas — ethicist and immediate former Director of the Institute for Ethics and AI, University of OxfordProfessor Henry Farrell — Political Scientist, Johns Hopkins UniversityMarcus Beard — Digital, disinformation and AI specialist, Fenimore Harper CommunicationsFurther informationHenry Farrell - We're getting the social media crisis wrongJohn Tasioulas - The classical key to the AI revolution

Long before AI dominated the media hype-cycle, self-driving cars surfed the hyperbolic wave. But fully automated vehicles have now been a long time in development, long enough that we've decided it's time for an update. So, how advanced is the technology and where is the demand? We also find out about consumer attitudes toward the "driver-assist" technologies that are now routinely fitted into modern cars. Surprise, surprise, it seems not everyone wants to be told how to drive.GuestsAssociate Professor Abdesalam Soudi — Sociolinguist, Department of Linguistics, University of PittsburghProfessor Michael Milford — Director of the Centre for Robotics, Queensland University of TechnologyAssociate Professor Milad Haghani — Principal Fellow in Urban Resilience & Mobility, University of MelbourneSönke Iwersen — Co-author of "The Tesla Files". Journalist for German business newspaper Handelsblatt

While technology platforms increasingly dictate the way we write and converse, language is being modified to fight back, to subvert the platforms. In this show we examine the growth of "algospeak". And if you want to know how we'll all be communicating in the future, just listen to the way teenage girls speak, because young women lead the ongoing development of language.Original broadcast on July 7, 2024GuestsDr James Cohen – Assistant Professor, Media Studies, Queens College, City University of New YorkDr Sali Tagliamonte – Professor of linguistics and Chair of the Department of Linguistics, University of TorontoPhilip Seargeant – Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, Open University UKFurther informationPhilip Seargeant's book "The Future Of Language"

We build more and more homes for growing urban populations. But doing so without providing much needed amenities doesn't serve our suburbs and the people who live in them. It risks confounding social isolation and urban sprawl. There's also climate change to consider. In a heating world, how do we plan our suburbs to deal with higher temperatures? Are the cities and suburbs of the future going to be livable for our children and our children's children?Rob Kelly investigatesGuestsAndrew Crowe — Demographer for Australian Bureau of StatisticsDr Annette Kroen — Senior Research Fellow at RMIT UniversityProfessor Sebastian Pfautsch — Professor of Urban Planning and Management at Western Sydney University and co-lead in People-centred Sustainable Precinct Design at the Urban Transformations Research CentreDylan Reid — Urbanist, editor, writer and co-founder of Spacing Magazine

The remote Canadian island of Oikiqtaruk is disappearing fast, but its cultural and environmental heritage is being captured in digital form. We talk to those involved in the project about its ambition and their success to date. Also, recreating long lost cultural artefacts. For the Madrid-based organisation Factum Foundation it's a journey of reconnection — a way that future generations can celebrate and cherish the character of their past.GuestsRichard Gordon — Senior Park Ranger, Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park, CanadaProfessor Peter Dawson — Dept. of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of CalgaryAdam Lowe — Director of Factum Arte and founder of Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in ConservationFurther informationFactum FoundationDigitally Preserving Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park

Australian rooftops are resplendent with solar panels, but sustainability expert, Martin Brueckner, warns the popular notion that we're rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels is deceptive. When you add Australia's fossil fuels exports to our domestic energy usage, he says, it's clear that "decarbonisation is yet to begin in earnest". Also, whatever happened to the dream that Australia could become a world leader in Green Hydrogen production?GuestsAlison Reeve — Energy and Climate change Program Director, Grattan InstituteAdjunct Associate Professor Madoc Sheehan — Researcher, James Cook UniversityProfessor Matthew Hill — Head of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash UniversityProfessor Martin Brueckner — Pro Vice Chancellor Sustainability, Murdoch University

Globalisation isn’t what it used to be thanks to the legacy of the Covid-19 lockdown and, more recently, Donald Trump’s weaponisation of tariffs. But while it’s often given a bad rap, globalisation is about more than just trade, it’s also about the international exchange of ideas and talent. So, is it dying, withering or simply transforming? Listen to Future Tense - How to start your own golden ageGuestsProfessor Richard Baldwin – International Economics, IMD Business School, Switzerland Professor Nick Bisley – International relations, La Trobe University Guy Miller – Chief Market Strategist and Economist, Zurich Insurance Group Ariel Kastner - Head of Geopolitical Agenda, World Economic Forum 

The European Union is implementing a groundbreaking new tax: a carbon border tax. It's meant to prevent distortions between countries with differing emissions standards and so to reduce emissions. But will it work? The same can be asked about the International Maritime Organisation's proposed new carbon levy on shipping. Also on the show, an update on the Great Green Wall — China's mass-tree-planting project; and measuring stress in trees to improve resilience.GuestsAssociate Professor Anna Trugman — Department of Geography, University of California, Santa BarbaraHonorary Professor Peter Bridgewater — Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National UniversityProfessor Michael Brear — Director, Melbourne Energy Institute, University of MelbourneDr Sanjay Patnaik — Director, Center on Regulation and Markets, Brookings Institute

Existential risks to human life abound, from the threat of nuclear Armageddon; to an uninhabitable planet; or an AI-induced apocalypse. Understanding such risks and how we can best respond to them is the preoccupation of S. J. Beard. But the Cambridge University researcher also speaks of "existential hope", a way of addressing our fears without the doom and despair. Also, Monash University's, Neil Selwyn, makes the call for what he terms "digital degrowth" — decoupling our online world from the shackles of consumer capitalism.GuestsDr S. J. Beard — Senior Research Associate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Cambridge UniversityProfessor Neil Selwyn — Faculty of Education, Monash UniversityFurther informationS.J. Beard - Existential HopeNeil Selwyn - Digital Degrowth: Radically Rethinking our Digital Futures

We're now halfway through the UN-designated "Ocean Decade" — new research initiatives have been launched, and global cooperation has been strengthened as scientists work to learn more about our oceans and to harness their potential in the fight against adverse climate change. But there are still questions to be answered:How firm are the commitments made under the Ocean Decade arrangement?Why are many countries still lagging behind in ratifying the "High Seas" treaty?And what will a reduction in US funding mean for ongoing ocean research?Also, the ocean-going drones deployed to improve climate monitoring; and a new system for helping ships navigate more efficiently.GuestsJulian Barbiere — Head of the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UNESCO; also Ocean Decade CoordinatorDr Meghan Cronin — Research Oceanographer, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory; and co-chair of the Observing Air-Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS), an endorsed programme of the UN Ocean DecadeDr Shane Keating — Associate professor, University of New South Wales; also founder of the company CounterCurrentDr Sarah Lothian — Senior lecturer and Academic Barrister, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of WollongongFurther informationUN Ocean DecadeSarah Lothian — Marine Conservation and International Law, Legal Instruments for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction

Humans have an evolutionary bias toward seeking convenience, experts say. But what happens when the desire for convenience becomes a dominant social and economic expectation? Future Tense explores the hidden costs of convenience for the environment and the economy. Making things too easy can in fact be bad for you.GuestsAlison Angus — Head of Practice – Innovation Research, EuromonitorDr Paul Harrison — Director of MBA Programme, Deakin University. Unit Chair of Consumer Behaviour, Department of Marketing, Deakin Business SchoolSloan Wilkins — Founder and Financial Coach, Everyday Money LiveDr Alex Curmi — Consultant psychiatristChris Williams — Founder and Chief Executive, ISB Global

Policing has always embraced new technologies and Artificial Intelligence is, of course, the flavour of the month. Working out when and why it should be used is crucial, according to law enforcement specialists. What’s also important is ensuring appropriate human oversight. Future Tense - The creeping militarisation of our policeGuestsDr Marion Oswald – Professor of Law, Northumbria University Philip Lukens – Former Police Chief, Alliance, Nebraska. Data-driven policing analyst Dr Nick Evans – Lecturer and researcher, Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, University of Tasmania Dr Terry Goldsworthy – Associate Professor in Criminology, Bond University

How real is the link between Artificial Intelligence and increased productivity? Jon Whittle from the CSIRO, one of Australia's leading science agencies, has been examining the latest research. He helps us sort facts from fiction. Also, literacy and problem-solving skills have taken a dive in many developed countries — could an over-reliance on technology be part of the problem? And why understanding the literary style "Magic Realism" could help in developing better regulation for AI.GuestsJovan Kurbalija — Executive Director, Diplo FoundationProfessor Jon Whittle — Data61 Director, CSIROAndreas Schleicher — Director for Education and Skills, OECD

Cities across the world are beginning to sink — some by as much as 10 centimetres a year. A recent study suggests that more than a third of urban Chinese resident now live in a sinking city. The cause is often ascribed to climate change, but is there something else at play? Could our thirst for water actually be the culprit? Also, how much do our urban environments contribute to the heating of the planet? A call to finally get serious about the climate impacts of city design.GuestsJeff Goodell — Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council. New York Times Best Selling author of "The Water Will Come"Dr Philip Minderhoud — Assistant Professor and Veni laureate at the University of WageningenAssociate Professor Anna Hullimann — Melbourne School of Design, University of MelbourneFurther informationJeff Goodell — The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities and the Remaking of the Civilized WorldAnna Hurlimann — Integrating Climate Change Action Across the Built Environment: A Guide for Transformative Action 

We face multiple looming demographic crises — and our responses seemingly contradict each other. A rapidly aging population means that we need more children to be born. But it's foreseeable that resources on Earth simply can't sustain many more people.How can we solve this conundrum?Original broadcast on May 22, 2022GuestsDr Stuart Gietel Basten — Professor of Social Science and Policy, Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyDr Marco Amati — Associate professor of International Planning, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityDeborah Devis — Science CommunicatorDr Anumitra Mirti — Senior Associate — Sustainability, BecaProfessor Nick Parr — Demographer, Macquarie University

South Korea is a test case in how to maintain democracy against sustained pressure from dictatorship. The innovative and entrepreneurial country lives in the shadow of China and Russia, and its capital Seoul lies only 50km from the North Korean border. It hasn't been easy, but the difficulties South Korea faces and the way it deals with them could prove invaluable for other regional neighbours in responding to future economic and military aggression.Journalist Matt Smith has this special report…GuestsDr Troy Lee Brown — Research Fellow, Defense and Security Institute, University of Western AustraliaProfessor Bec Strating — Director, La Trobe Asia and Professor of International Relations at La Trobe UniversityDr Mike Bosack — Special Advisor for Government Relations, Yokosuka Council for Asia-Pacific StudiesDongkeun Lee — Policy Fellow, Asia-Pacific Leadership NetworkDr Duyeon Kim — Adjunct Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Centre for New American Security