Dear Futurists,

“How do we get the next ten years right” is the central theme of the 2023 CogX Festival. It’s an inspired question.

Indeed, the next ten years are poised to be the most momentous in human experience.

I know that’s a big claim. But the technologies that are in the process of being developed and deployed have the potential to upend almost every aspect of our lives – deeply transforming us as individuals, families, groups of friends and rivals, corporations, nations, and even as a global society.

If we get things right, we could be standing at the threshold of a sustainable superabundance. If we get things wrong, most of what we presently hold precious could be ruined.

I’ve attended CogX Festival several times over the years, since the very first Festival in 2017. Each time, I’ve come away with lots to ponder, as well as new relationships and an extended network.

This year, recognising the growing impact of new technologies and the public hunger for clearer understanding of the potential implications, the festival is stepping up to an iconic new stage. It will be held at the O2, North Greenwich, London, and sites across Canary Wharf. That’s a fitting venue for arguably the world’s most important question.

From 12th to 14th of September, the Festival will feature:

• Three Summits, covering DeepTech, Industry Transformation, and Global Leadership
• A new Expo hosting up to 10 pavilions and 500 startups showcasing the very latest innovation
• An Executive Programme across the 80 suites on The O2’s levels 2 and 3
• Dedicated tracks and masterclasses on critical topics including Generative AI, AI safety, ethics and regulation across all three Summits
• The 7th annual CogX Awards for innovators and change makers.

Here’s a comment from Charlie Muirhead, CogX CEO:

ChatGPT’s viral adoption is just the latest reminder we live in an ‘Exponential Age’. There are extraordinary opportunities ahead of us in drug discovery, education, and clean energy, but challenges such as AI safety are raising legitimate public concern around the world. That’s why there has never been a more pressing time to convene global leaders, the tech industry and the public in-person to address the question: “How do we get the next 10 years right?”. And The O2 is the only venue where we can do this both inclusively and at the scale needed. We can’t wait to help give thousands of people a chance to participate in the discussion at this critical time in humanity’s evolution. We look forward to welcoming everyone from CEOs to students alike.

I’m pleased to share the news today that London Futurists has become a CogX Affiliate Partner.

Watch out for more information in due course about the participation of London Futurists at the CogX Festival.

But for the time being, here’s the big opportunity:

Members of London Futurists can use a discount code when registering for CogX Festival tickets, via this registration link, to obtain a 30% discount.

I can’t share that discount code in any public message, but it will be emailed to all the members of London Futurists who receive the version of this newsletter that is sent via our page on Meetup.com.

The code can be used whether you decide to register as “Standard”, “Gold”, or “Platinum”.

Don’t delay too long: the Festival tickets are currently at an “Early Bird” rate, but that’s only for the next few weeks.

London Futurists shares with CogX the intention to be not just a “think tank” but also a “do tank”. It’s not sufficient for ideas to be shared. Instead, public policy needs to be put in place:

• Incentives and subsidies, to encourage activities that will steer our emerging new technologies in deeply beneficial directions
• Penalties and constraints, to prevent activities that might appear to be profitable (or even “cool”), but which store up unacceptable risks.

I’ll be writing to you more on future occasions about that topic, and with more news about the affiliate partnership of London Futurists and CogX.

Until then, why not catch up with listening to episodes of the London Futurists Podcast? A friend drew my attention recently to a number of 5-star reviews of our podcast on the Apple Podcasts webpage.

Commenting on this news, Xin Zhou, Executive Chief Editor of The Yuan, made me blush by saying,

David Wood and his organization always remind me he would be H. G. Wells in London today. Congrats!

My prose is leagues behind that of H.G. Wells, but, hey, I’ll take that compliment!

// David W. Wood
Chair, London Futurists