What's hot?
Here are some of the topics, trends & subjects I am currently writing about, working on, or interested in.
Networked States
Global mobility and digital technology have opened up new possibilities for the state. While some argue that "the state is dead", nothing could be farther from the truth.
Citizenship and sovereign services need no longer be attached to a particular - particularly in an age of virtual assets and digital business.
From State-as-a-Service to new governance and business models, the form and function of the state is poised for fundamental change in the 21st Century.
Virtual Economies, Video Games & Political Movements
If social media helped shaped the culture and politics of the last decade, video games and virtual worlds will help shape the next.
Games and virtual worlds (part of, but distinct from, the idea of "the Metaverse") are rapidly becoming the dominant social platform for tomorrow's debates, media, influence and economy.
Unlike social media, games lend themselves to far more effective forms of social and economic organisation. What impact will that have on future generations and the businesses and governments of today?
Pre-Legal Technologies, 21st Century Regulation
Emerging technologies have outstripped the capacity of most states to effectively govern them.
Governments often default to overly restrictive, innovation-stifling regulation, or overly lenient corporate favoritism.
Neither stimulates growth effectively nor adequately protects the commons from adverse consequences.
From 3D printed buildings to blockchain technology and financial innovation, "pre-legal regulation" represents a new approach to managing risk.
Non-Western Approaches to Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
Popular culture suggest Artificial Intelligence will become either our master or our slave. Can we control AI? Or will it control us?
While common, this point of view is grounded in generations of Cartesian epistemic thought. Buddhist philosophy suggests there may be another way.
Viewing life as a spectrum of interconnected forces, with various degrees of embodied consciousness, creates new possibilities for how we relate to AI.
While seemingly trivial, this shift has fundamental implications.
Deep Work, Deep Time & Distraction
“The Internet seizes our attention, only to scatter it,” writes author Nicholas Carr.
Awash in a hurricane of stimulus, disconnected from anchors that ground us, it is harder and harder to differentiate fact from fiction, wisdom from ignorance, reality from lies.
In an age of fragmentation, automation and distraction, the ability to think, feel and work deeply is an essential skill.
Computer scientist Cal Newport calls this "Deep Work". How can we cultivate deep work, and a deeper sense of time, as we move faster into the 21st Century?
Public Influence in the 2020's
No one reads your press releases. You do not control the narrative. No one is in control. So what do you do?
Niche communities, trusted advisors and personal recommendations hold more sway now than ever before. And not all of these communities are physical.
How do you operate effectively in this world?
The only way to build lasting influence in the 21st Century is by being part of a community of shared goals, values and personalities. To participate, one must be authentic. Authenticity leads to listening, which opens opportunities for change.
This is tremendously hard for brands and governments, and requires a new approach to public communication in the 2020's.