See my Comment below for a link to David Orban’s 20 minute talk.
In this keynote, delivered at The Futurists X Summit, on September 22 in Dubai, David Orban maps how AI and humanoid robotics shift us from steady exponential progress to an acceleration of acceleration—what he calls the Jolting Technologies Hypothesis. He argues we’re not in a zero-sum economy; as capability compounds and doubling times shrink, we unlock new degrees of freedom for individuals, firms, and society. The challenge is to steer that power with clear narratives, robust safety, and deliberate design of work, value, and purpose.
You’ll hear:
• Why narratives (optimism vs. doom) shape which futures become real.
• How shortening doubling times in AI capabilities pull forward timelines once thought 20–30 years out.
• Why trust in AI is task-relative: if +5% isn’t enough, aim for 10× reliability.
• The coming phase transformation as intelligence becomes infrastructure (homes, mobility, industry).
• Concrete social questions (e.g., organ donation post–road-death decline) that demand AI-assisted governance.
• Why the nature of work will change: from jobs as status to human aspiration as value.
Key ideas:
• Humanoid robots at scale: rapid iteration, non-fragile recovery, and human-complementary performance.
• Designing agency: go from idea → action with near-instant execution; experiment, learn, and iterate fast.
• From zombies to luminaries: use newfound freedom to architect lives worth living.
Resources & Links:
• Slides download: https://davidorban.com/futurist.
• David’s site & writing: https://davidorban.com.
• On the Jolting Technologies Hypothesis: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.
About David Orban.
Technologist, investor, author, and keynote speaker. David explores the frontier of AI, robotics, and decentralized systems, advising leaders on exponential change and the practical ethics of deploying advanced capability.
Call to action.
If this sparked a thought, leave a comment. How will you use AI and robotics to expand your degrees of freedom—this quarter, not “someday”?
#AI #Robotics #ExponentialTechnology #JoltingTechnologies #FutureOfWork #HumanoidRobots #Autonomy #Safety #Innovation #DavidOrban