Gerd Leonard – Leading Media Futurist
Topical keynote Speakers & Experts - Digital Technology & Future Trends
World-Renowned Futurist, Humanist, Bestselling Author & Authority on Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Digital Ethics and the Future of Humanity
Speaker Overview
Gerd Leonhard is one of the world’s leading futurists and a globally recognised voice on artificial intelligence, emerging technology, digital ethics and the future of humanity.
For more than two decades, Gerd has helped leaders understand how exponential technological change will reshape business, society and the way we live and work. He has delivered more than 2,000 engagements across 70+ countries, reaching a global audience of more than 3.5 million people.
He is the author of five books, including the international bestseller Technology vs. Humanity, which explores the increasingly important relationship between humans and intelligent machines. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts and CEO of The Futures Agency in Zurich.
At the heart of Gerd’s work is a powerful question: as AI and other technologies become exponentially more capable, how do we ensure technology continues to serve humanity rather than humanity becoming subservient to technology?
His keynotes combine technology, economics, business strategy, ethics and human behaviour to help organisations understand what is coming next and make better decisions about the future they want to create.
Popular Speaking Topics
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity
How AI is transforming business and society, what happens as machines become increasingly capable, and why organisations must consider not only what technology can do, but what it should do.
Navigating the Intelligence Revolution
How artificial intelligence is becoming a general-purpose technology with implications across virtually every industry, and what leaders need to understand about the opportunities, risks and responsibilities ahead.
Technology vs. Humanity
As technology becomes exponentially more powerful, where should organisations draw the line between automation and human judgement?
Gerd explores how businesses can embrace technological progress while protecting the qualities that make us uniquely human.
The Good Future
Gerd challenges pessimistic assumptions about what lies ahead and argues that a better future is possible if technological progress is combined with human values, purpose, ethics and collaboration.
His framework focuses on People, Planet, Purpose, Peace and Prosperity as foundations for creating a positive future.
Digital Ethics and Responsible AI
How should organisations balance technological capability with responsibility?
Gerd examines AI governance, digital ethics, human agency and why organisations need to consider the purpose and consequences of technology alongside its commercial potential.
The Future of Work
What happens when AI agents, automation and intelligent machines can perform increasing amounts of knowledge work?
Gerd explores what organisations should automate, what should remain fundamentally human and how leaders can prepare people for a workplace increasingly shaped by intelligent technology.
Becoming Future-Ready
The future cannot be predicted with certainty, but organisations can become better prepared for it.
Gerd explores how leaders can develop greater foresight, imagination, adaptability and a future-ready mindset.
Why Book Gerd Leonhard?
Gerd brings a distinctive perspective to conversations about artificial intelligence and technological change.
Rather than presenting technology as either something to fear or something that will automatically solve humanity’s problems, he asks leaders to think critically about where technology should take us.
His work explores both the extraordinary opportunities created by AI, automation, quantum computing, biotechnology and other emerging technologies and the difficult questions surrounding ethics, governance, employment, human agency and control.
This makes Gerd particularly valuable for organisations that want to move beyond a conventional presentation about the latest AI tools and instead engage their audience in a bigger strategic conversation about technology, business and humanity.
His presentations are highly visual and designed to make complex future trends accessible, provocative and relevant to business audiences.
Audiences Leave With:
- A clearer understanding of how AI could transform business and society
- Greater awareness of the technologies shaping the next decade
- A framework for thinking about responsible and human-centred AI
- New perspectives on digital ethics and technology governance
- A better understanding of the future of work and automation
- Practical ideas for developing a future-ready mindset
- Greater confidence navigating technological disruption
- A more optimistic but balanced perspective on the future
Biography
Gerd Leonhard is a futurist, humanist, filmmaker, bestselling author and one of the world’s most established keynote speakers on technology and the future.
Over the past two decades, he has delivered more than 2,000 engagements across over 70 countries, working with major corporations, governments and organisations around the world.
Gerd is the author of five books, including Technology vs. Humanity, which has been published in multiple languages and explores the profound challenges created as technological capabilities increasingly intersect with areas that were previously considered uniquely human.
He is CEO of The Futures Agency, based in Zurich, and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts in London.
His work focuses particularly on artificial intelligence, exponential technological change, digital ethics, the future of work and what he calls The Good Future.
Central to Gerd’s thinking is the distinction between technological tools and human purpose.
He argues that as society develops increasingly powerful technologies, organisations need to invest just as seriously in what he calls TELOS, the purpose, direction, values and ultimate destination of technological progress.
Gerd also uses the concept of Androrithms to describe distinctly human qualities such as creativity, empathy, intuition, imagination, meaning and moral judgement, capabilities that become increasingly important as algorithms take over more routine and analytical tasks.
His work therefore goes beyond predicting technological trends.
It asks leaders to consider what kind of future they want to create and how organisations can use increasingly powerful technology while maintaining human agency, purpose and responsibility.
Today, Gerd advises and speaks to organisations around the world, helping leaders understand technological disruption and prepare for the profound changes that AI and other emerging technologies could bring over the coming decade.
Speaking Style
Provocative, visionary and highly visual.
Gerd combines future trends, powerful storytelling, striking imagery and challenging questions to create presentations that encourage audiences to think beyond immediate business priorities.
His keynotes are designed to stimulate conversation and leave audiences thinking differently about technology, humanity and the future.
Ideal Audiences
- AI and Technology Conferences
- Leadership Conferences
- Executive Leadership Meetings
- Innovation Summits
- Customer and Client Conferences
- Digital Transformation Events
- Future of Work Conferences
- Strategy Conferences
- Corporate Offsites
- Financial Services Conferences
- Technology Leadership Events
- Board and Executive Events
- Global Corporate Conferences
- Large Enterprise Leadership Teams
Key Takeaway
Gerd Leonhard shows organisations that the future of artificial intelligence is not simply a technology question.
It is a leadership and human question.
As AI and other technologies become exponentially more powerful, organisations need to decide not only what they can automate and transform, but what they should.
His message encourages leaders to embrace technological progress while protecting human agency, creativity, judgement, purpose and values.
The future is not something organisations simply have to accept. It is something they have an opportunity to shape.
Book Gerd Leonhard For Your Event
Gerd Leonhard delivers provocative and highly visual keynote presentations that help organisations understand artificial intelligence, technological disruption and the forces shaping the future of business and humanity.
Drawing on more than two decades of work as a futurist, author and adviser, Gerd helps audiences look beyond short-term technological trends and consider the bigger strategic, ethical and human implications of exponential change.
His talks are ideal for leadership conferences, AI events, customer conferences, innovation summits, executive meetings and corporate offsites where organisations want to challenge their thinking and prepare for what comes next.
Contact us today to check availability and discover how Gerd Leonhard can help your audience understand AI, embrace technological change and build a more human future.