The Centre for Security Governance is hosting the Waterloo Symposium on Technology & Society, and we are excited to announce our first speaker in the series, futurist and New York Times best selling author, Martin Ford. This keynote lecture, “Disruptive Technology — Do Robots want Your Job?” will explore the ways in which AI and automation (robots) are outpacing humans in a range of sectors, from education to law, agriculture to healthcare, management and beyond. Ford will discuss the implications of a new industrial revolution and role of basic, guaranteed income as automation displaces a human workforce. He offers a realistic view of what the future of work — and your place in it — will look like. Beyond pragmatic concerns, Ford addresses a bigger question: can accelerating technology disrupt our entire economic system to the point where a fundamental restructuring is required? This next industrial revolution, Ford argues, will not be like the last one. In the past, even as jobs were eliminated, jobs were created to replace them. Increasingly, new machines will be able to take care of themselves, making fewer jobs necessary. Will basic, guaranteed income be implemented?
Martin Ford is a futurist, New York Times Bestselling Author and Silicon Valley Entrepreneur. He is a leading expert on the Robot Revolution, Artificial Intelligence, Job Automation, and the Impact of Accelerating Technology on Workplaces, the Economy and Society. He is the founder of a Silicon Valley-based software development firm and the author of three books: Architects of Intelligence, the New York Times bestselling Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future, and The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future. Martin has over 25 years of experience in computer design and software development, and holds a computer engineering degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a graduate business degree from UCLA. He has written for publications including Fortune, Forbes, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Project Syndicate, The Huffington Post and The Fiscal Times. Ford has also appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including programs on NPR and CNBC.
The Waterloo Symposium on Technology & Society seeks to promote public discourse in Canada and beyond on the societal challenges and opportunities created by innovations in four primary areas: artificial intelligence, robotics, big data and social media.
For more information, visit the CSG website, or reserve a ticket here. If you have any questions, please reach me at mbunch@secgovgroup.com.
