Greg Lindsay is the Director of Applied Research at NewCities, where he analyses what mobility and mixed-use development looks like in the future. He is a futurist, urbanist, critically acclaimed author and journalist. In this exclusive interview with Greg, he shares his expert insight on the future and the respective effects of AI, cities, the climate crisis, blockchain and innovation. We picked his brain on what our post-pandemic world looks like, and how and why so many things are changing.
Greg Lindsay works with many multinational organisations, helping them plot a course for the future. He discusses the “death of cities” notion and how “remote work and its instant adoption has led to massive changes for cities” all over the world. Innovation does not happen through increased productivity, but rather through serendipity. Greg provides a brilliant understanding on how and why we “need to work on bringing people back together in a new, innovative way”.
Climate change is another area of concern that Greg discusses, along with his opinion on the recent COP26 gathering, expressing that “its one thing for nation-state governments to talk about great pledges… but all the plans are insufficient”.
Artificial Intelligence and massive advances in technological innovation are a peak area of interest for Greg. He explores the future of AI, discussing that “a lot of artificial intelligence is being used, not to create new services to enhance productivity, but to suppress wages and push people down”, further delving into discussions surrounding “its not about when the robots will replace us, its about are we creating the right kinds of AI?” Greg shares his deep understanding of some of the most relevant and prominent issues of our time.
Video Timeline
- 00:16 – Who are you and what do you do?
- 01:14 – What is the future of cities, post-pandemic? Will remote work lead to the downfall of central business districts?
- 03:11 – You recently moved from NYC to Montréal, is that the reason?
- 04:31 – You speak a lot about Climate change, what does it mean for cities? What do you think about the outcome of the COP26?
- 06:32 – How do we keep innovating in a post pandemic World?
- 08:25 – Following on the future of work, how are emerging technologies going to reinvent the way in which we collaborate?
- 10:03 – How will AI impact the real world? Will robots replace us at work?
- 11:58 – Metaverse is of course all over the headlines – what does a Metaverse world look like?
- 13:49 – What is next for you?
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