What Comes Next?

Cities — they’re fun, fast-paced and absolutely riddled with expensive coffee shops. *Whispers* they can be pretty dangerous, too. But have no fear, technology is here! And by 'here', we mean on this episode of What Comes Next? We're chatting to Jillian Kowalchuk, Founder & CEO of Safe & The City, to talk digitized street-smarts, partnershipping like a boss, and her mission to combine data, safety, and inclusive design. Find out more: Safeandthecity.com londonandpartners.com Questions? Comments? Fiery opinions? We want to hear them! Email the show at wcn@granttree.co.uk

It's Rise of the Machine Colleagues! Data's on the phones, R2-D2's handing out stationery, and Marvin the Paranoid Android is giving the company pep talk. Yes way! Because this episode we're talking to Nebuli, a company using AI to turn hum-drum apps into super-smart robotic co-workers. CEO and Co-Founder Tim El-Sheikh joins us to chat ethics, Augmented Intelligence, and how the company's AI invented its own language. Questions & comments? Email Amy, Kweku and Rob at wcn@granttree.co.uk Find out more: nebuli.com aiq.org

Petroleum plastics are destroying the planet. They use up energy, take hundreds of years to decompose, and the 12 million tonnes of it that end up in the ocean every year are doing unthinkable damage to wildlife. We must end our dependence on oil-based plastics, and Floreon is one company helping us do just that. Floreon has created an organic compound which turns PLA into "the world's most versatile bioplastic". Could Floreon-infused PLA finally put an end to oil-based plastics? CEO Shaun Chatterton explains how Floreon works, the company’s journey, and what’s next for the world’s plastic consumption. Questions & comments? Email us at wcn@granttree.co.uk Find out more: floreon.com

In this two-part episode we talk to a genetic testing company which may have cracked the code to digital privacy. In part 1 we talked about genes, eugenism, and the life-saving power of genomic sequencing. In part 2, we're discussing genetic data privacy, serial killers, and taking back our privacy with Fully Homomorphic Encryption. Special Offer! Use the code 'VIP20' at circagene.com to get 20% off all CircaGene testing kits! Questions, Comments, Thoughts? Email Rob, Kweku and Amy at wcn@granttree.co.uk Find Out More Circagene.com

Amy, Kweku and Rob play a special Christmasy version of Next or Not? Three more technologies are up for judgement: flying cars from Terrafugia, location sharing from what3words and zero-emission Christmas cooking from One Earth Designs. Questions & comments? Email us at wcn@granttree.co.uk Find out more: Terrafugia: terrafugia.com what3words: what3words.com One Earth Designs: oneearthdesigns.com

We talk to a genetic testing company which may have cracked the code to digital privacy. Part 1: genes, eugenism, and the life-saving power of genomic sequencing. Part 2: genetic privacy, serial killers, and the holy grail of cryptography. FIND OUT MORE circagene.com Questions & comments? Email us at wcn@granttree.co.uk

Hadean has developed the world's first cloud-native operating system. VP Michael Gunadi tells us about the company's world record attempt with EVE Online developers CCP Games, and the possibilities for this OS in gaming, climate change and life sciences. FIND OUT MORE Hadean.com ccpgames.com GET IN TOUCH Questions? Comments? Fiery feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at wcn@granttree.co.uk FIND US ONLINE For the latest updates, and even more content, make sure you follow us online Twitter: @wcnpod Instagram: @wcnpod

Blade Runner depicts a dark, twisted Los Angeles that's been savaged by rain and runaway industry. The year? 2019. Like a lot of good science and dystopian fiction, Blade Runner serves up a stark warning about our future. But can these well-told tales scare us away from embracing technology? GET IN TOUCH Questions? Comments? Fiery feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at wcn@granttree.co.uk FIND OUT MORE Check out this excellent article from Nautilus about Sci-Fi's cultural blindspot: http://nautil.us/issue/65/in-plain-sight/why-futurism-has-a-cultural-blindspot-rp

Amy, Kweku and Rob play Next or Not? to decide which of three tantailizing technologies will change the world. The contestants are: Astroscreen's fake news shield, Relativity Space's rocket printer, and Telecom ParisTech's smartphone skin. Let the games begin! FIND OUT MORE Astroscreen: astroscreen.com Relativity Space: relativityspace.com Skin-On Interfaces: marcteyssier.com/projects/skin-on  GET IN TOUCH Questions? Comments? Fiery feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at wcn@granttree.co.uk FIND US ONLINE For the latest updates, and even more content, make sure you follow us online Twitter: @wcnpod Instagram: @wcnpod

First, there was just cash. Then we invented cheques, credit cards, chip and pin, and eventually, contactless. But just when we thought spending money couldn’t get any easier, a brand new piece of tech has appeared on the scene: the smart ring. On this episode, we’re speaking to Dan Blondell from McLEAR about the magical future of payments, and how contactless tech can do much more than let us buy lunch. Questions & comments? Email us at wcn@granttree.co.uk Find out more: McLEAR website: https://mclear.com/

The world needs more doctors. Two-thirds of the global population don't have access to safe and affordable surgery. And in the UK, we simply aren’t training enough surgeons to replace the ones that will soon retire. Could VR training be the solution? We talk to Steve Dann, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of immersive medical training company, Medical Realities, about the hopes for VR throughout the medical field. FIND OUT MORE Medical Realities: medicalrealities.com 360 Surgical Training Video: youtube.com/watch?v=n7ALZkPoTYQ GET IN TOUCH Questions? Comments? Fiery opinions? We'd love to hear them! Drop us an email at wcn@granttree.co.uk FIND US ONLINE For the latest updates, and even more content, make sure you follow us online Twitter: @wcnpod Instagram: @wcnpod Questions & comments? Email us at wcn@granttree.co.uk

Vision - the complex skill of determining what is and is not a cat. While most of us take it for granted, it’s an ability that has long eluded even our most sophisticated machine learning algorithms...until now. We talk to Alberto Rizzoli, Co-Founder and CEO of V7 Labs, a deep learning company that is well on its way to "making machines see like humans". FIND OUT MORE v7labs.com GET IN TOUCH Questions? Comments? Fiery feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at wcn@granttree.co.uk FIND US ONLINE For the latest updates, and even more content, make sure you follow us online Twitter: @wcnpod Instagram: @wcnpod

Handles, twisty-tops, fiddly buttons. The whole world is built for human hands, so why don't we give robots hands, too? Well, that's exactly what Shadow Robot Company are doing. The ingenious company has developed the world's most lifelike robotic hand. It's so realistic, it even has fingernails! We talk to Managing Director, Rich Walker, about the captivating creation, and explore what its digital digits mean for automation, telepresence, and telerobotics. FIND OUT MORE Shadow Robot Company: shadowrobot.com Awesome videos of robot hands: youtube.com/user/srcteam GET IN TOUCH Questions? Comments? Fiery feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at wcn@granttree.co.uk FIND US ONLINE For the latest updates, and even more content, make sure you follow us online Twitter: @wcnpod Instagram: @wcnpod

Cities are getting larger, denser, and much, much hungrier. So, why don’t we move food production a little closer to home? We talk to Steve Dring, Co-Founder and CEO of Growing Underground, owners of the world’s first underground farm. Their luminous pink facility sits 33 metres under the streets of London, and grows microgreens and salad leaves much more efficiently than traditional methods. Could this be a blueprint for the farms of the future? FIND OUT MORE Growing Underground: growing-underground.com GET IN TOUCH Questions? Comments? Fiery feedback? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email at wcn@granttree.co.uk FIND US ONLINE Website: what-comes-next.simplecast.com Twitter: twitter.com/wcnpod Instagram: instagram.com/wcnpod