This is an edited recording of my keynote at the AmCham Bulgaria Vision 2050 event in Sofia. The next 10 years will bring more change than the last 100. Nuclear fusion, renewable energy, AI that can learn and “think,” genetic engineering, quantum computing and synthetic biology – we are inventing tools that could solve most of our practical problems: energy, water, food, transportation, healthcare, even aging. But the very same technologies can also fuel misinformation, arms races, mass surveillance and deep social inequality. We’re standing at THE fork in the road: we can use technology to build #thegoodfuture – or let it pull us into something much darker. In this talk, I explore why our biggest challenges are no longer merely scientific or technical, but cultural, political and ethical.

 As machines take over more routines, and are “good enough” for more and more simple tasks, human skills like empathy, creativity, imagination, ethics and wisdom become more valuable, not less. I’ll share why optimism is not naïve, why fear-based thinking traps us, and how we can use exponential innovations to enable human flourishing rather than undermine it. If you’re worried about where the world is heading – or excited but conflicted – this is an invitation to help design the future, not just watch it happen.