A LETTER FROM OUR CEO

WE LIVE in extraordinary times, in a world where individuals, organisations, and technology can impact the lives of billions of people and change the world at a speed and scale that would have been unimaginable just twenty years ago.

We also live in a world full of challenges, and a world  where all too often negative news gets amplified at the expense of good news, and where tales of hope, inspiration, and positivity get drowned out and lost in the noise. It’s no wonder therefore that today more people are more anxious about the future than ever before. And, arguably, a society which believes it’s marching towards the darkness, rather than the light, has a poorer future than one that doesn’t. Hope, however, is all around us and it’s our purpose to light the way so all of us, people and planet, can prosper.

Welcome to my scratchpad, and thank you for spending your valuable time with us.

This website is your front row seat to the exponential future. But not just any future – your future. It’s no secret that collectively humanity is on the cusp of a new era, bought about by the development and adoption of increasingly powerful exponential technologies. And it won’t be the first time, or the last time that we witness one.

In the past twenty years humanity has made more technological progress than we did in the previous five hundred, and in the next thirty years we will make more progress than we did in the previous twenty thousand, which is something that is a staggering feat by any measure, and all of tomorrow’s new industries, products and services, will have their foundations in the technologies we are developing today, many of which will be as revolutionary as the discovery of agriculture, electricity, and fire.

As the rate of change continues to accelerate, in some areas at what seems like breakneck speed, our ability to track all the developments and their downstream implications will continue to become more challenging. It’s this complexity, and it’s undeniable impact on people and our society that inspired me to found the 311 Institute and the World Futures Forum that, hopefully, will bring people together, stir debate, and be a single point of reference for people who want to see what the future holds for us all.

Today just under half of the world’s population is connected, and while that figure will continue to tick upwards over the next decade, for those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to tap into its democratising power, technology is giving us all the ability to transform our lives, and the lives of everyone around us, in ways that very few people could imagine even just a few decades ago. And if we have come this far in just a few decades, then just imagine what the next fifty holds.

Today is the slowest that we’ll move ever again, and while the future holds great promise, it’s important to remember that we are all just caretakers in time, and that each of us has the responsibility, and the power, to safeguard and improve not just our own lives, but the lives of everyone on this giant blue and  green spaceship we call Earth, and the generations that are yet to come.

Together we can change the world, and, as we create our legacy, the legacy of a better future for everyone, we owe it to each other to leave noone behind. My sincerest regards and best wishes to you all, and remember, we are only a mouse click away if you want to talk with us.

eXplore more,

Matthew