The Futurists

In this powerfully inspiring talk, Futurists co-founder Robert Tercek shares insights from his four years of collaboration with technologists to build artificial intelligence tools that empower artists to create cinematic stories. In February 2026, Tercek shared these remarks as the keynote speech at the annual meeting of the Hollywood Professionals Association, whose members include the heads of production for the major film studios, TV networks and streaming platforms. At a time when many professional filmmakers are worried about AI, Tercek provides a message of hope and positive change. AI for artists and storytellers is here.

Price is the most important signal in a market economy. But in a distorted market, prices no longer provide reliable information to consumers. For startup ventures, getting the price wrong can be a fatal mistake. Per Sjofors is the “price whisperer.”  He uses AI to help companies determine the optimal price to charge for new products. Per joins the Futurists to talk about price-setting strategies in complex markets, commodity markets, and markets dominated by platforms or oligopolies.

In this episode Cecilia Tham takes us through the intersection of science, design, and business to build things that don’t exist yet. As the founder of Futurity Systems, Cecilia leads a team providing Futures-as-a-Service for global companies and government agencies. Moving beyond speculation into active future building and construction. In this episode we also talk about her efforts to build her own digital soul…

Globally the cost of health care is exploding. In the United States, the problem is particularly severe because system is fragmented across many providers and highly inefficient. Economic incentives intensify the problem among private films. Suneel Ratan, CEO of Precognitive, is on a mission to streamline service delivery by building an intelligence layer to provide a single unified care plan across siloed providers. He likens it to a fintech model for health care. Ratan points out that health care is not an infinite resource, which raises the stakes for optimized delivery of personalized care. This is a job for AI. In this discussion, the Futurists covers a range of issues of challenges and areas of inefficiency in health care while driving towards solutions.

An erratic President, a bungled raid on American cities, two fatal shootings by ICE agents, a massive protest by thousands of citizens in Minneapolis and other US cities, and flood of dishonest and misleading statements by Presidential aides and cabinet members: the United States begins 2026 in utter turmoil. Technologist and author Ramez Naam joins the Futurists to share his perspective on the political unrest in American civil society and the collapse of governance norms. Are populist forces fighting against a future defined by accelerating change? Is this a desperate attempt to restore society to a mythical past that never existed? Or is something more sinister afoot? What are the long term effects, domestically and internationally? The discussion includes a range of views on American chaos and some lively debate about the long term implications.