What is Digital Humanism?

By Martin Recke

The early, 14th-century humanists started a cultural revolution that peaked in the Renaissance era. Maybe it is time for a new cultural revolution, a new Renaissance. Or is it already happening?

NEXT17 Summary #2: How to make digital better

By Adam Tinworth

So, digital sucks. How do we make it better? By pushing ourselves outside of our cosy cultural comfort zone, and learning from the edge of our societies…

NEXT17 Summary #1: Where digital went wrong

By Adam Tinworth

For two days in September, the digital world met in Hamburg and a single question was on our lips: where did we go wrong? Here are the answers we found…

How China is Changing Consumer Behaviour Worldwide

By Adam Tinworth

China's real story isn't – yet – being told. China is not just a huge market - it's a huge engine of innovation that's coming our way.

Bruce Sterling, live from 2027

By Adam Tinworth

The world is moving in Germany’s direction says Bruce Sterling. This is his guide to surviving until 2027 - by ignoring Britain.

Tricia Wang: Why corporate “innovation” doesn’t work — and how to fix it.

By Adam Tinworth

Companies aren’t bad at innovation; they’re bad at making good decisions about that innovation. Tricia Wang explains how to make better decisions.

David Mattin: We need to talk about optimism

By Adam Tinworth

David Mattin opened up NEXT 17 with an attack on the corporate optimism of Silicon Valley and a pleas to replace it with nuanced optimism.

Hamburg: 15 essential places to visit

By Adam Tinworth

Got some time to spare during your visit to NEXT17? Desperate for a great coffee, and insect tasty ice cream or even a little sight seeing? Here are the NEXT team’s recommendations.

Digital Sucks. So, let’s choose to make better decisions

By Adam Tinworth

The best part of 20 years ago a very smart woman told me something I strongly disagreed with at the time: love, she said, isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision. In my 20-something’s surge of passion and romance, I denied it all. There was no way love was anything as…

Four major trends from the Apple iPhone X event

By Adam Tinworth

The first Apple event at their new campus brought us new phones, watches and TV boxes - but also a clear look at Apple's next set of trends.

We need to talk about optimism.

By David Mattin

It’s time to reclaim the word from fake techno-utopians  –  and understand that new technologies can make things worse as well as better.

Digital Sucks – because it lets us be less human

By Adam Tinworth

Intentionally or not, the drive to reduce life friction digitally has made us more social isolated. Are we too far down that path, or can we turn back?

The Future is Human-Centric

By Martin Recke

This week, Gartner published their annual update on the Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. What struck me was the observation that there seems to be a pattern now.

Digital sucks – because we pay too much attention to user desires

By Adam Tinworth

Are we turning our users into narcissistic toddlers by catering to their every whim?

Digital Sucks. But, right now, AIs are helping us making it better

By Adam Tinworth

In films, AIs are homicidal machines come to kill us. In reality, they're tireless assistants solving the problems we don't have time for…

Are we using our digital tools — or are they using us?

By Adam Tinworth

We've welcomed digital devices into our homes, our lives and our pockets. But have we really thought about whose agenda lies embedded in the apps we use?

Welcome back Bruce Sterling. We’re ready for some tough love.

By Adam Tinworth

Bruce Sterling is back at NEXT - and we're ready for both his optimism and his deep insights into the problems with digital. Help us make it better, Bruce.

The HomePod’s story is Apple at its product marketing best

By Adam Tinworth

Apple's pre-announced a smart speaker for the end of the year. On the surface, it's an Amazon Echo competitor, but that's not the story Apple will tell the wider public…

Digital Sucks: The NEXT17 Theme

By Adam Tinworth

Let's face it. Digital sucks. And its our fault. At NEXT17 we'll face that head on - and decide what to do about it.

Amazon’s Echo Show: finding new gaps in the phone ecosystem

By Adam Tinworth

Amazon is kicking out its new hardware fast and furious - and it's doing its very best to own our homes.

Amazon’s Echo Look is sneaking AI into your style – and your health

By Adam Tinworth

Amazon wants to put a camera in your wardrobe - and help you make fashion decisions. It's a great offer for the Snapchat generation - but could those images be giving away more about you than you expect?

New graphics chips and new Mac Pros: is Apple paving the way for an AR future?

By Adam Tinworth

Apple had a bit of a rough week - with a supplier dispute exposed, and the failure of the existing Mac Pro made plain. But do these odd revelations hint at a bigger picture?

The End of the Filter Bubbles?

By Martin Recke

At SXSW a year ago, President Obama spoke and enthusiastically livened up the tech scene. A similar appearance of President Trump at SXSW 2017 would hardly be imaginable.