The Metaverse Quiz

Last week I had the privilege to speak at the SuperMassive event organized by SingularityU Portugal and the Nova Business School in Carcavelos, Portugal. The event organizers had agreed to my crazy proposition to do a real-time quiz with the entire audience, consisting of hundreds of business leaders from Portugal. The topic: the Metaverse! We had a lot of fun! People were really competitive

Digital Trust

Digital Trust

As institutions are put to the test by the associated economic and social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the largest ever Trust Gap between the mass population and informed public has emerged in The Netherlands.

Edelman Trust Barometer measures trust amongst respondents in 28 markets, including the Netherlands, and investigates societal perceptions and expectations of the four major institutions—government, business, NGOs and media.  They asked my for my thoughts along 4 lines.

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AI is transforming healthcare (and that’s a good thing)

Artificial intelligence, or AI. It is perhaps the closest thing we have to magic in the world today, a superpower that can analyze massive amounts of data quickly and accurately. AI could be our loyal companion, helping us on our quest to answer some of our deepest and most perplexing questions. Or could it also become our master, controlling our decisions and actions and

Online press conference (the new standard)

Philips wants to keep the conversations going. The current lockdown is prohibiting events like IFA, where normally their new products would be revealed to the press. That’s why last week I was invited to host a “virtual press conference” for Philips, with Rianne Meijerman (Head of consumer marketing) and Jeroen Tas (Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer) answering questions from reporters from allover the globe.

AI for Good Geneva

Once a year, thought leaders and world leaders get together to discuss our future with artificial intelligence. This happens in Geneva under the flag of the AI for Good Global Summit, organized by Xprize, ITU and the United Nations. AI-Literacy I was invited to give a talk on National AI-Strategies. As you know most countries have them, but I honestly think many of them

Gödel Escher Bach

How is it that self-reflecting, intelligent beings come out of non-intelligent matter?

How can a self come out of things (carbon, molecules, atoms, proteins and so on) “as selfless as a stone or a puddle?” How does all that “meaningless” stuff that makes us up in the physical universe, grow into an entity that can refer “meaningfully” to itself, perceive itself, talk about itself, become self-aware?

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Keep the end in mind

Public speaking is a high-wire act. Those first few moments are crucial. Your heart beats faster. You’re sizing up your audience. And of course, they’re watching every move you make. But once you get your flow, it all seems effortless. You feel a connection – like you’re moving in step. It’s exhilarating when that happens. 

In cooperation with Logitech I’m putting together a list of “speaking hacks”. This is part three and it builds upon what we learned from Hans Rosling (prepare to be relaxed).

Remember: when you’re on stage, don’t think too much about what you have to say next. Relax, be in the moment and smile. It’s okay to improvise. But there’s a catch!

What will people remember after listening to your story? What will be the “take home message”? Even if you are confident, don’t just wing it. Yes, it’s okay to improvise, in fact I encourage it. But do prepare your final statement and learn it by heart. It will give you some extra courage and boy, will you look confident right before you say… “Thank you!”.

Smile! You’re on stage.

In cooperation with Logitech I’m putting together a list of “speaking hacks”. No matter if you’re addressing an audience of 1,500 people or if you’re speaking to a group of five directors, here are some simple pointers that anyone can use. If you think that your words are all that matters… think again. Yes, your words are important. But if people aren’t paying attention,