Category Archives: Futurist

What Tales of Kenzera lacks in creative game design it makes up for in vital, passionate storytelling.

Of all the Metroidvania elements in Tales of Kenzera: Zau, my favourite are the trees. Simply enough, meditating inside a tree provides a health boost. It's here the camera pans out to reveal these great, almost magical, natural structures which provide safety, sanctuary and a moment of reflection. Protagonist Zau is a hot-headed and petulant young man desperate to revive his father, but sat quietly in the trunk of a tree, he's just a boy.

The trees are a key example of how Tales of Kenzera transposes the genre to its African setting, but also where its heart lies: with the relationship between a father and son. The game's creator, voice actor Abubakar Salim (best known for his portrayal of Bayek in Assassin's Creed: Origins), has been particularly open about the personal inspiration behind the game: his own experience of grief following the death of his father. There's even a moving short film released ahead of the game. Yet even without knowing this, Tales of Kenzera itself exudes passion and love.

It's a story-within-a-story set in the fictional Afro-futurist land of Kenzera, and it tells the tale of desperate shaman Zau who bargains with Kalunga, god of death, following the passing of his father. Zau must deliver three spirits to win back his father and, along the way of his adventure, he learns to cope with his feelings of grief. Kalunga becomes his father-figure guide who speaks in proverbs and commands Zau with stern yet comforting lessons; Zau in return listens, rebels, argues, and accepts.

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Back to the trees: it's here we learn more about Zau's relationship with his father. As he reminisces on past moments - the sort you misunderstand as a child but appreciate with the wisdom of adulthood - he recognises the value of these lessons. Zau must learn to let go, and it's by reflecting with Kalunga in these trees he appreciates the extent of his loss and finds hope for the future. Throughout the adventure, Zau wrestles with his feelings and learns to express his emotions as he tackles the issues each of the three spirits represents. Kalunga acts as pseudo-therapist: "I see before me a strong, brave and intelligent young man who chooses to champion hope over despair," he tells Zau at one point.

There's humour too that touches deeper still than sincerity. Kalunga tells Zau of past shamans whose abilities he gradually acquires in typical Metroidvania fashion, yet Zau often laughs in disbelief at the seeming silliness of these stories. These are the Bantu Tales, traditional folk tales from across Africa that Salim shared with his father and directly influence Tales of Kenzera. The narrative often plays on the antagonistic relationship between generations, but it's not hard to picture Salim himself having similar conversations with his own father. He's the voice of Zau and their words are one. Despite the sorrow of its themes, there's an honesty and warmth to the storytelling in Tales of Kenzera that heightens the accomplished, if sometimes rote, gameplay.

If there's one Metroidvania convention Tales of Kenzera gets absolutely right, it's the free flow of movement. Zau begins the game with basic abilities already learned, like a dash and double jump, indicating his base capabilities as a hero. The feel of the game is superb as he swiftly leaps, wall jumps and bounds through each beautiful, African-inspired environment, and later abilities, like a grappling hook and powerful smash, complement the skillset. Narratively these abilities are based on the Bantu Tales, informing both Zau and us of these fantastical, insightful fables - from wrestling with clouds to alleviate drought, to the sacrifice of an elder sister to protect her shaman brother. On a gameplay level, though, they often serve a singular purpose that doesn't creatively push the limits of their function. Take the first ability, for instance, which can freeze water: this allows Zau to run up rivers and wall jump against waterfalls, yet after that initial use the game doesn't build on this in a meaningful way, or combine it with later abilities for more intricate platform-puzzle solving.

Zau also begins the game with his primary combat abilities: two masks, pertaining to the sun and moon, that provide melee and ranged attacks respectively and are switched between at the press of a button. Animations also change depending on the mask worn, from the moon's spiralling gymnastics to the sun's elegant pirouettes. Zau's a capable fighter, then, with attacks building up spirit energy that's used to either heal or unleash powerful blasts of anime-style energy. These are later boosted by unlocks in a simple upgrade tree. Again, it all flows well and feels satisfying at first, but combat is ultimately let down by a lack of enemy types that leads to repeated visual design and strategy, with higher difficulty achieved by simply throwing in more enemies at once. Bosses, though, punctuate story and gameplay with welcome challenge and there are some thrilling chase and escape sequences.

If some of this feels familiar, there are multiple gameplay devices that reveal Salim's gaming influences, from the Gears of War-style reload to prevent spamming shots, to the Ori-esque parrying of projectiles. Another is the trinket system, similar to the badges in Hollow Knight, that provide useful boosts, but their impact is lessened by the need to switch at workbenches that are spread too thinly throughout the map. Tales of Kenzera leans into player expectations of what a Metroidvania should be, resulting in an enjoyable, if straightforward, 2D adventure experience.

Multiple difficulty options. Control tweaks like controller aiming sensitivity and toggle for hold inputs. Screen shake, camera sway and chromatic aberration can be disabled. Controller input remappaing. Swahili voice option.

Yet I'm not quite convinced it satisfies as a Metroidvania. When I think of the genre, I mostly think of getting lost in labyrinthine worlds and needing to think creatively about my abilities to proceed. This didn't happen to me in Tales of Kenzera, and that's for two reasons. Firstly, the map - itself a little difficult to read between negative space - reveals an area in full at its start, meaning you never get the sense of exploration and discovery as you proceed. Secondly, while the world branches in multiple directions, progression is linear. There are optional areas to delve into to find new trinkets, often with plentiful insta-death hazards (so, so many spikes), but for the most part the main path is clear beyond simple (and literal) keys and locks. Metroid fans expecting an interconnected world of backtracking and disorientation may be left wanting.

Still, while it's easy enough to pick out flaws, they're forgivable due to the game's primary focus on compassionate storytelling, told mostly through expressive artwork. Tales of Kenzera thrives on its authentic African setting and offers vital representation as a result. The care and attention to detail here is clearly apparent, from the integration of the aforementioned Bantu Tales, to the inclusion of a Swahili vocal dub. The game's presentation merges modernity and tradition in a unique global melting pot of ideas. There's Afro-futuristim and folklore in its expansive visual design and intricately detailed costumes and hairstyles, plus anime eccentricity in combat. And its incredible score combines Western orchestration, sci-fi synths and ethnic instruments. I've not played a game like Tales of Kenzera before because this type of setting isn't seen enough in gaming, whether due to under-representation in the industry or perceived lack of interest from players. But these stories deserve to be told and Salim deserves praise for creating a game with a world that feels so fresh and unique.

The games industry needs diverse stories, both to highlight difference and prove their universality. Tales of Kenzera excites with its authenticity, yet its true power lies in its emotive, earnest narrative that tells a father-son story of grief that relates to us all and our hope for the future. As Zau tells Kalunga: "one thing I know about the human spirit is that if there is a chance - even a shred of hope - of potentially making things better, we take it." So reach out and grab it.

A copy of Tales of Kenzera: Zau was provided for review by EA.

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Tales of Kenzera review: a compassionate Afro-futurist exploration of grief - Eurogamer.net

Gross! It's Alive!

The International Space Station has long been known as a unique and uniquely gross environment. But according to a new NASA study, it has stuff growing on it that is straight-up alien, too.

In a press release, NASA said that when scientists from the Jet Propulsion Lab looked at samples of the drug-resistant Enterobacter bugandensisbacteria found on the orbital outpost, they found that the strains had mutated into something that literally doesn't exist on Earth.

"Study findings indicate that under stress, the ISS isolated strains were mutated and became genetically and functionally distinct compared to their Earth counterparts," the press release reads. "The strains were able to viably persist in the ISS over time in significant abundances."

What's even crazier: E. bugandensis was apparently able to not only coexist "with multiple other microorganisms," but was also demonstrated in some cases to "have helped those organisms survive."

Published in the journalMicrobiome, a paper on the new study details how JPL researchers isolated 13 distinct strains of the gastrointestinal bacteria, which was discovered in 2018 and is associated with severe illnesses, including sepsis in newborns.

According to the paper, the strains studied in the new research were "isolated from various locations within the ISS," along with all the other nasty stuff that causes its peculiar smell. Along withE. bugandensis, NASA has been studying other potentially harmful viruses, fungi, and bacteria as part of its secondmicrobial tracking mission, which has astronauts literally scrape the ISS walls and put what they find under microscopes to see how weird they got.

"Closed human-built environments, such as the ISS, are unique areas that provide an extreme environment subject to microgravity, radiation, and elevated carbon dioxide levels," the press release explains. "Any microorganisms introduced to these areas must adapt to thrive."

And thrive it did! According to the study,E. bugandensis not only survived in the confines of the space station, but actually seemed to have become even more drug-resistant, placing it within the "ESKAPE pathogen group" comprised of several bugs that are known for "formidable resistance to antimicrobial treatments."

This study, the researchers insist, will help better contribute to the understanding of genetic evolution of pathogens and ultimately add to science's growing understanding of how to stay healthy in space.

For us on Earth, however, it's just another reminder that for all the damage we've done to our planet, we're still very lucky not to be trapped in space with mutated terrestrial germs.

More on the ISS:Departing Astronauts Leave Sticky Brown Surprise in Space Station

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Mutant Bacteria Discovered Aboard International Space Station - Futurism

It could be what makes up dark matter. Dark Secrets

New research suggests that the universe is filled with particles capable of traveling faster than light, LiveScience reports and that this scenario holds up as a potentially "viable alternative" to our current cosmological model.

The idea is a little far-fetched, sure, but it's worth hearing out. These hypothetical particles, known as tachyons, aren't likely to be real but they're not some hokey bit of sci-fi, either. The potential for their existence is something physicists have been giving serious thought for decades, raising fundamental questions about the nature of causality.

As detailed in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study, the researchers posit that tachyons are what make up dark matter, an unobservable and despite being widely considered to exist by scientists, technically hypothetical substance that is thought to account for around 85 percent of all matter in the universe.

Because we can only see dark matter's substantial gravitational influence, we don't know what it actually is, leaving the door open to all kinds of possibilities that are worth considering.

As it turns out, a tachyon-filled cosmos does a good job of explaining the universe's ongoing expansion, according to the researchers.

In the standard cosmological model, the existence of so-called dark energy is used to explain the expansion of the universe. Also unobservable, dark energy is thought to dwarf even dark matter, accounting for up to 70 percent of the entire universe.

Without it, the sheer gravity of all the mass in the universe would eventually slow down its expansion. Instead, scientists have observed the rate of expansion is actually accelerating driven by, it's hypothesized, dark energy.

But if tachyons are real and pervade the universe as dark matter, they could also potentially explain this acceleration. The researchers found that, in such a scenario, tachyonic dark matter would initially decelerate the universe's expansion, before reversing and causing it to accelerate like we see now. They call this an "inflected" expansion.

So far, their evidence to support this comes from observations of Type Ia supernovae, a type of supernova in which a dying star collapses and explodes caused in certain types of binary star systems.

These distinct supernovae serve as standard candles, cosmic objects with a known luminosity that allow astronomers to use as a reference point to calculate distances in space. It was by using Type Ia supernovae as standard candles,in fact, that scientists first confirmed that the expansion of the universe was accelerating.

When the researchers compared their tachyonic model to sample data from the Type Ia supernovae, they found that the two are "comfortably consistent with one another."

Of course, this is a very limited application of the model. It raises intriguing possibilities for followup research, sure, but it's a far cry from proving that tachyons actually exist. Nonetheless, it illustrates just how much we have left to learn about the fundamental phenomena that govern the cosmos.

More on cosmology: New Paper Claims Dark Matter Doesn't Exist at All

The rest is here:
Physicists Suggest Universe Is Full of Material Moving Faster Than Light - Futurism

"The consequences of this industrys unfettered carbon emissions will reach everyone on the planet." Trash Mountain

Our species' bottomless appetite for plastic isn't just a problem because of all the waste it generates. Its production is also spewing unchecked greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report released this week by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The work shows that our reliance on the ubiquitous material is undermining climate change mitigation efforts, not to mention adding endless plastic pollution to the environment and our bodies in the form of insidious and far reaching microplastics.

"Petrochemicals, the building block of plastic, are already poisoning communities that neighbor production facilities with cancer-causing pollution," Bloomberg Philanthropies Beyond Petrochemicals executive director and one of the report's sponsors Heather McTeer Toney toldThe Guardian. "The consequences of this industrys unfettered carbon emissions will reach everyone on the planet."

The scientists found that even a conservative scenario of the plastic sector growing at 2.5 percent per year would result in a future in which greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production could more than double by 2050 and make up 21 to 26 percent of the planetary carbon budget that keeps temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

A less conservative scenario in which the plastic sector grows by four percent per year would see greenhouse gas emissions increasing three fold by 2050, making up a staggering 25 to 31 percent of the planetary carbon budget to keep warming at 1.5 degree Celsius.

The team arrived at the findings by analyzing how plastic is produced, from the extraction of fossil fuels toproducing finished products.

The findings are grim, according to the scientists, and defy easy fixes much like the rest of the climate crisis, tragically.

More on plastic: Scientists Find Bottled Water Filled With Hundreds of Thousands of Microplastics

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Plastic Is Starting to Generate a Staggering Proportion of Earth's Carbon Pollution - Futurism

"We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space program is a military program." Full Nelson

NASA's administrator is once again making outrageous claims about China's space capabilities and in the process, fueling the off-world rivalry between the two.

"We believe that a lot of [China's] so-called civilian space program is a military program," Administrator Bill Nelson said during remarks on Capitol Hill this week, per The Guardian. "And I think, in effect, we are in a race."

The comments, as the website notes, came during a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee which means that Nelson was making them while asking for money for NASA, which has requested a whopping $25.384 billion for its 2025 funding.

"China has made extraordinary strides, especially in the last 10 years," Nelson continued, "but they are very, very secretive."

It's unclear from the reporting about the administrator's comments what evidence his claims are riding on. This is not, as we mentioned, the first time Nelson has made such bold accusations about our sometimes-ally.

Sworn in in May 2021, Nelson has for much of his tenure warned that China could usurp America's space advantage at any moment and has used similarly bold claims to demonstrate that point.

Just a year into the job and during another House Appropriations Committee hearing the administrator straight-up accused China of stealing American spacecraft designs.

"Yeah, they're pretty good at stealing," Nelson told the subcommittee in May 2022, "and I think that's incumbent upon us to take cybersecurity very, very seriously."

Just a few months later, he claimed in an interview with a random German newspaper that China wants to "steal" the Moon as well, which prompted a response from the rival nation.

"The US side has constantly constructed a smear campaign against China's normal and reasonable outer space endeavors," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a press statement, "and China firmly opposes such irresponsible remarks."

While there certainly is no love lost between Nelson and his Chinese counterparts, the incendiary discourse between these space race rivals generally seems to originate on the American side.

Last fall, Nelson again claimed that China plans to hoard lunar resources for itself, which would go against the United Nations' binding space treaty of 1967 and in his more recent remarks, he reiterated those remarks while begging for more money.

"The latest date they've said they're going to land [on the Moon] is 2030, but that keeps moving up," Nelson told Congress, per transcription from Sky News. "It is incumbent on us to get there first and to utilize our research efforts for peaceful purposes."

At this point, the lengthy list of receipts of this sort of recurrent rhetoric coming from the top of NASA does make one wonder: is China on the offensive, or is America?

More on NASA: NASA Admits Space Station Junk Crashed Through Man's Roof

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Head of NASA Says China Is Hiding Military Experiments in Space - Futurism

I do not consider myself a nerd.

But what you are about to read may make it hard to believe that statement.

My mom didnt splurge on luxuries.

She didnt own new furniture with the exception of a mahogany formal dining room set that was a wedding gift from my dad until she was in her late 50s.

But there were a few things that most wouldnt consider essential, that she made sure she bought regardless of the scrimping it took.

One of them was encyclopedias.

The value of books, especially encyclopedias, was instilled in my mom by her mother.

Edna Towles formal education ended in the eighth grade.

Grandmother taught in a one-room school house for two years in the wilderness that was the Smartville area in western Nevada County just after the dawn of the 20th century.

She became a cattle ranchers wife and then ended up as the rancher when my grandfather left her high and dry with seven kids to raise at the start of the Great Depression.

It clearly was a struggle. Despite that, she found a way for her kids to have a used encyclopedia set at home.

My mom started acquiring encyclopedias for her kids the way many households did in the 1950s and early 1960s.

It was one volume at a time through weekly grocery store promotions.

That is how our familys first encyclopedia set, The Golden Book Childrens Encyclopedia, was obtained.

It was also the way the second set, The Golden Book Encyclopedia for Home & High School, made its way into our household.

When my oldest brother was about to enter high school, mom decided she needed to get better encyclopedias.

The result were three sets she bought on the installment plan for what was then an ungodly sum of $200.

They were the Book of Knowledge, Grolier Encyclopedia, and The Book of Popular Science Encyclopedia.

She also, for a number of years, bought a hardback annual recap of world events the Book of Knowledge published each year.

When I was 7 years of age, there were five encyclopedia sets in our house.

My brothers used them to help with homework.

I went one step further.

I read them for pleasure. All of them.

I would entertain myself for hours doing just that.

If that doesnt strike you as a bit nerdish, it was just a precursor.

By the time I was in the eighth grade and earning money doing odd jobs, I was able to put aside money not needed for clothes to buy subscriptions to three magazines.

Boys Life? Sports Illustrated? Popular Mechanics?

Try Newsweek, Time, and US News & World Report.

Three weekly news magazines I couldnt wait to arrive in the mail.

I took it further.

My mom allowed me to tack the covers of Newsweek and Time US News & World Report was pretty boring to my bedroom wall.

Other preteens had posters of sports figures and such plastering their walls.

I had images of politicians and newsmakers.

Real photographs from Newsweek and artist renderings which was Times forte.

It goes without saying that I place a large degree of value in the printed word, literally and figuratively.

It doesnt take too much of a leap to figure out that I had a well-worn library card growing up.

That said, Im not a book collector, per se.

I do have some books that I keep and periodically reference and read again.

The biggest collection is centered around water and its politics.

Much of my reading today consists of PDFs produced by government agencies that are sometimes so laborious and lengthy, they take longer to download than the Titanic takes to upload.

Its been more than a few years since Ive made my way to the library to browse the shelves.

That, by the way, is the best way to find something of interest that youd never try on your own. More horizons and such get opened up that way.

Which is why I abhor algorithms think Netflix to recommend what you should explore. All it does is limit your world if you follow their led.

It is also why I take a dim view of those seeking to ban books that they dont agree with or feel threatened by.

There were 4,240 different book titles targeted for banning in 2023, according to the American Library Association.

Its the most titles ever since the association started tracking book ban efforts decades ago.

For a bit of comparison, the 2023 numbers for books targeted for banning in schools and public libraries was up 65 percent from the previous year.

Its roughly 15 times more than in 2015 when 275 titles were challenged including the Bible.

The two biggest states for attempts to ban books were Florida at 2,672 titles followed by Texas at 1,470.

James LeRue, Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom back in 2015, noted book bans reflect the fact cultures change over time, and the things we fear, or celebrate, change with them.

Going from 275 unique books being targeted for banning a decade ago to 4,270 today does indeed reflect there is a lot of fear today.

California, by the way, in September of last year thanks to legislative action, became one of two states to outlaw book bans in public schools.

Book bans speak volumes.

Especially today, 24 plus years beyond when some futurists in the 1980s predicted libraries would be obsolete and printed books superfluous.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com

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4240 book ban tries, not bad for media that futurists said would be dead by now - Manteca Bulletin

This is bad. Sinking Feeling

A new study has discovered that a staggering number of Chinese cities are sinking into the Earth.

According to the study, which was conducted by a team of over 50 Chinese scientists using radar observations and published this week in the journal Science, almost half of China's 82 major cities are experiencing rapid subsidence.

Subsidence, or the scientific term for the Earth's surface effectively sinking in on itself, is a serious issue. Not only does it present obvious infrastructure and safety dangers, but as NPR notes, sinking land is also known to expedite the problem of already-rising coastlines. And by these researchers' estimates, the extreme sinking observed in China could mean that about a quarter of the nation's coastal regions are below sea level by the year 2120.

Combine the problem of sinking cities with China's massive population, and as the researchers point out in their study, you have a recipe for a human and infrastructural disaster.

"Even a small portion of subsiding land in China," the researchers write, "could therefore translate into a substantial threat to urban life."

Subsidence isn't just a problem in China. Countries worldwide are experiencing a concerning level of land sink, and in January, a satellite-based study revealed that US' major East Coast population centers are similarly caving into the Earth, as are gulf cities like New Orleans and Houston.

"This is a big problem," Robert Nicholls, a professor of climate adaptation at the University of East Anglia in England who wasn't involved with the study, told NPR. "The scale is large."

"Without doubt," he added, this new study "brings home that this is not a local problem. This is a national, or even international, problem."

But while land sinking is an international problem, cities in Asia might be uniquely at risk. As Nicholls reportedly told NPR, Asian cities are commonly constructed on river deltas, which are particularly susceptible to subsidence. The Indonesian capital city of Jakarta, for example, was built on a river delta and is sinking beneath sea level at a deeply alarming rate.

In short, subsidence is a growing threat. And while mitigating subsidence is a complicated fix, this latest study highlights just how important those mitigation efforts might just be for protecting land for future generations.

"Our results underscore the necessity of enhancing protective measures," the researchers write, "to mitigate potential damages from subsidence."

More on subsidence: Satellites Show the East Coast Is Sinking

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Chinese Cities Are Sinking Into the Earth, Scientists Find - Futurism

NEW YORK, USA, 23 April, 2024,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-The Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) proudly announces thedistinguished honoreesof the Class of 2024 in theGlobal Top 100 Futurists Edition onWorld Creativity and Innovation Day.

Embracing the ethos of recognition and aligning with the 1st pillar of theInternational Decade for People of African Descent, MIPAD shines a spotlight onindividuals,organizations, andgovernmentswho have exemplified exceptional leadership in advancing people of African descent worldwide.

Kamil Olufowobi, Founder & Chairman of MIPAD, emphasized that these global lists signify the organizations ongoing commitment to showcasing the positive impact made by individuals of African descent across the globe. We are dedicated to amplifying the diverse narratives of the global Black community and illuminating the countless untold stories of our challenges and triumphs, spanning every corner of the world and reaching even the highest echelons of influence, he remarked.

MIPAD extends heartfelt congratulations to the exceptional individuals recognized in the Class of 2024. Their remarkable achievements and unwavering dedication serve as beacons of inspiration for humanity.

TheClass of 2024 Global Top 100 Futurists Editionencompasses three distinct categories:Afrofuturism & Creatives, Futurists, andInnovators & Changemakers.Recognizing individuals who have made remarkable contributions to shaping the future and pioneering innovative solutions within their respective fields.

Finalists are highlighted within three category:

AFROFUTURISM & CREATIVES:This category celebrates individuals who explore the intersection of African culture, science fiction, and art, shaping imaginative futures and pushing creative boundaries.

FUTURISTS:Recognizing those at the forefront of technological advancement, this category honors individuals who innovate in fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and finance, shaping the future of technology and society.

INNOVATORS & CHANGEMAKERS:Highlighting individuals who drive change through groundbreaking sustainable practices, and transformative initiatives, this category acknowledges those who are shaping a better future for all.

Join us in celebrating the 2024 MIPAD Honorees for their transformative contributions to societies worldwide, their resilience, and their indomitable spirit in overcoming adversity. BRAVO!

Please visitwww.mipad.org/classof2024to see complete list.

We look forward to hosting all of our Honorees, past and present, in New York City for Most Influential 100Recognition Week 2024 (RW2024) September 20th 22ndfollowing the opening of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York City #UNGA

For congratulatory ads, sponsorship & speaking opportunities, please contactinfo@mipad.orgor call +1 917 541 8394or+1 917 256 9940(New York)

Distributed byAfrican Media Agency (AMA)on behalf of MIPAD.

About Most Influential People of African Descent(MIPAD)

The Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD), is a global civil society initiative in support of the International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 68/237, to be observed from 2015 to 2024. MIPAD identifies high achievers of African descent in public and private sectors from all around the world as a progressive network of relevant actors to join together in the spirit of recognition, justice and development.

MIPADs Global Most Influential 100 Publications2023|2022|2021|2020|2019|2018|2017

The post MIPAD announces the Global Top 100 Futurists Edition on World Creativity and Innovation Day appeared first on African Media Agency.

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MIPAD announces the Global Top 100 Futurists Edition on World Creativity and Innovation Day - Africa.com

Saturday 20 April 2024 8:00 am

Bill Quinn is a so-called futurist who is using technology to improve his performance in sporting events such as the London Marathon, which is this year sponsored by tech company Tata Consultancy Services.

First thing in the morning, most people reach for their phones. Not Bill Quinn though. Instead, he checks his rest and recovery data to gauge how well-rested he is from the previous days activities.

Quinn is a so-called futuristsomeone fascinated by exploring predictions about the future.

His particular focus is on the future of running. Having completed the New York marathon last year, hes now gearing up to join the 50,000 runners tackling the 26-mile course across London this weekend.

During these runs, Quinn, who considers himself an average runner, constantly monitors his progress using various devices. These include an Apple Watch on one wrist, a rest and recovery monitor on the other, and a glucose monitor measuring blood sugar levels on one arm.

I wanted to experiment with whether consumer-grade wearables could create a digital twin of myself, he explained.

Early on in his experiment, which has spanned a number of months, Quinn took the data from his devices and cobbled it all together in a spreadsheet. I could see what my average heart rate was when I was on this run, but then also what was my glucose level during that one, he said.

The point of stitching all this information together was to create a digital twin of himself. Using this modelling, Quinn could see exactly what he needed to do to enhance his athletic performance.

Its all about understanding whats going on in that environment, he explained, and then also being able to do scenario planning to plan and try out different scenarios to optimise for the future.

The 50-something-year-old estimated he spends around $1,000 per year on various health and fitness subscriptions.

It was really just kind of an experiment to understand whats available to the average person in terms of a digital twin, Quinn said.

By comparison, American tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson is spending millions a year improving his fitness levels in an attempt to reverse the ageing process.

Although Quinn currently uses technology mostly for sports, it has heightened his awareness of diet. But long-distance running events like the London Marathon are just one of the circumstances where the concept of digital twin technology can make a difference.

Quinn also envisions a future where data will play a significant role in healthcare.

For example, health metrics could be continuously monitored and automatically shared between patients and doctors, rather than relying on sporadic annual check-ups.

This data-driven approach can detect and address conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer early on, significantly reducing healthcare costs and enhancing overall wellness.

I think theres a huge opportunity in the medical field for this data to be leveraged, he said.

See the article here:
How one 'futurist' is using tech to run the London marathon faster - City A.M.

If youve been looking for a fun watch for the entire family to enjoy, look no further than Iwj, streaming on Disney + now!

Source: Courtesy / Disney

Kugali filmmakersdirector Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, production designer Hamid Ibrahim and cultural consultant Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku spoke with BOSSIP about their new Disney series Iwj. The project tells the story of a privileged island girl Tola and her friend Kole as they face tremendous danger from an evil man and his formidable helpers. Powered by their unique friendship, the pair use technology to overcome all obstacles!

Source: Courtesy / Disney

The series is set in a futuristic Lagos, but the Kugali team used the real Nigerian city as their main source of inspiration.

Lagos is a huge city, one of the biggest cities in in in the world, so representing its entirety in a six episode miniseries is beyond the scope of that particular project, Olufikayo Ziki Adeola told BOSSIP.

Nevertheless, we wanted the show to at least give people a snapshot into the feel of Lagos, so although we feature a finite number of areas, the breadth of the areas that we feature give a representation as to the to the larger Lagos in many ways.

Source: Courtesy / Disney

Lagos is divided into the island where the wealthy live, and the mainland where the working class and those less fortunate live, and the physical locations that we go to in the story in both places give you a very clear sense, Adeola continued. So even though we feature one specific area of the island, if you go to almost anywhere in the island, having watched the show, you wont feel like a fish out of water. Similarly in the mainland I think a lot of the mainland is centered in a specific place but if you go to other parts of the mainland, theyre also quite similar. So the key thing here is giving people a feel for Lagos and building something that is authentic.

Source: Courtesy / Disney

Viewers are sure to love the advanced technology featured in Iwj, including flying cars, robot pets and more.

The first thing I looked at was Where is Lagos, Nigeria right now? What would that future look like? Hamid Ibrahim told BOSSIP. I tried to avoid outside influences as much as I can but we try to make it make sense for the Lagos were building and with Lagos everything was almost a consequence of the other thing. With the cars, in Lagos everybody I drives in a really crazy way, the traffic is insane so the way the cars are built they have spherical wheels because you can move in every direction right, left, back, front, very easily and that allows you to dodge around that craziness of traffic and then the wheels open up so you can fly. Of course they have flying cars! I dont know why, maybe it just looks cool, but the specific reason was if youre in Lagos traffic and you have enough money to fly over the traffic, you are going to fly over the traffic! So you have the flying cars to fly over the traffic. In Lagos, on the streets, a lot of vendors come to sell you stuff at your [car] window. In this world, youre up in the air if youre the most wealthy person. The venors want to reach the most wealthy people and make more money so they create drones that can fly up there to sell this stuff, so everything was built to serve real life Lagos where it is right now and kind of extend the vision of that 100 years from now and kind of build the possibility of it.

Source: Courtesy / Disney

The Lagos of Iwj is one where class issues continue to persist and our beloved Tola is too young to fully understand the dangers ahead. Her best friend Kole has a better idea of the realities of the world and they end up being put to the ultimate test of their relationship.

The relationship between these two characters very was very deliberate because I wanted to give viewers the ability to experience a breadth of perspectives, Adeola told BOSSIP. With Tola you have a young girl who lives an affluent and privileged life and in Kole you have a young man who has had to deal with a significant amount of struggle in his life. When I reflect on my own childhood, I definitely was more in the Tola camp in terms of the conditions in which I grew up, and I often never could really fully understand the circumstances of people like Kole because there is such a huge division between these two worlds, even though you have people from the the mainland or from poorer communities coming to the wealthier communities to to work and and do a variety of of of tasks, it almost felt like we were of two separate worlds and I think part of what the story tries to achieve is how do we potentially bridge this gap.

Iwj is streaming exclusively on Disney+.

Source: Courtesy / Disney

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Iwj Creators Imagine Adventure In Lagos Of The Future - Bossip