Article by Rennê Nunes, CEO of UP Lab and creator of Brincar é Direito (Play Is a Right)

Article by Rennê Nunes, CEO of UP Lab

Article by Rennê Nunes, CEO of UP Lab and board member of Sistema B Brasil

Futures studies help companies plan scenarios in the face of climate change and prepare for risks and opportunities.

With Cidades+B, Sistema B, Cause and Labora, UP launched SP+B to bring sectors together for the sustainable development of the city of São Paulo.

Twenty years after the 2001 blackout, Brazil faces a new energy crisis, and the Northeast emerges as a leader in renewable energy.

Mental health, sexism, and doping were some of the topics discussed during the 2021 Olympic Games

Once a near-biohacking experiment in the 60s, cuddle parties have become a commercialized product in large metropolitan centers defined by the loneliness of their residents and workers.

Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history of science at Harvard, offers recommendations on how to strengthen trust in the scientific method and highlights the importance of recognizing biases in research.

The MIT Technology Review lists ten major ecological and health issues to consider from a technological perspective. What innovations can we expect for 2020?

A researcher reflects on the results of two studies that diagnose racism in society across two spheres: the social and the technological.

In an interview during the IDFA event, Snowden discussed the documentary iHuman and argued about the dangers of algorithms and surveillance by big tech companies.

Research conducted by Brookings analyzed AI patents and job postings to correlate findings on the future of work in the face of artificial intelligence. Among the possibilities is the end of high-paying management positions and supervisory roles.

In an article for The Conversation, researcher Philip Goff advocates for the creation of a new scientific method that is not restricted to the quantifiable, but rather understands the mind as matter that transcends conventional laws of physics.

How synthetic biology and genetic engineering are working to create new synthetic organisms and modify our bodies by decoding our genome.

Capable of emulating the appearance and behavior of any person, the Robo-C model launched by Promobot speaks volumes about the country's current state regarding robotics and transhumanism.

How will we regulate the artificial intelligence mechanisms that increasingly shape our lives?

An analysis by psychology student Jean Fan explores the rapid rise of the Asian nation and how bias may be hindering our ability to learn from the Chinese model of governance.

After releasing a debut album created by AI avatars, Ash Koosha from the company Auxuman discusses the potential for artistic creation between human and machine.

More than ever, qualities such as maturity and emotional intelligence will be sought after in the world of work, given the limits of technology when it comes to making critical decisions and ethically weighing processes and content. The future is the time for people over 60.

An essay on the power of narratives, late-stage capitalism, and reflections on the future

Shelly Fan details the possibilities and explorations of methodologies and interfaces for neural implants, covering what has already been discovered and the potential paths ahead.

Between utopias and dystopias, the nuances and ambiguities of what it means to be free and conscious within one's own freedom

For Susan Schneider, author of the book “Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind,” it is difficult to predict to what extent neural implants might amplify our minds or destroy us as beings.

Seed, a company composed of scientists, doctors, and entrepreneurs, has launched a scientific education and awareness initiative for influencers to reduce the spread of false and incorrect health information.

Translation of the text published by Jia Tolentino on feminism, beauty, technology, and capitalism.

Between the mastery of technique and the morality of its application, scientists are debating ways to make gene editing more accessible to everyone. However, this would also come at a high price: the erasure of human diversity.

Social media is our gateway to the internet, and the best way we represent ourselves there is through photos of our own faces, but what are the consequences of this practice?

For researcher Abeba Birhane, we must take a critical look at technological biases before blindly importing tech solutions into contexts as distinct and specific as those that make up the African continent.

As we achieve a better quality of life through technological support, such as universal basic income driven by industrial automation, would it matter more how many years we can live or how well we can enjoy our "natural" lifespan?

In a deep dive mapping audiovisual examples, Christopher Noessel analyzes factors such as embodiment, subservience, and benevolence in the representation of gendered or gender-fluid AIs. How do these fictional portrayals connect to our reality, and how can these insights help us change it?

Why does George Orwell’s novel, published over half a century ago, remain relevant and show signs of enduring even further as the years go by?

Aiming to bridge critical thinking with business knowledge, a new center fostered by investor Stephen Schwarzman seeks to address the ethics of artificial intelligence and new computational technologies currently under development.

How this blockchain and artificial intelligence-based app is seeking to connect artists worldwide and tokenize aesthetic value could revolutionize how we are rewarded for data production.

The novel, written by Joanne Ramos, tells the story of a dystopian future where poorer women become surrogate mothers for wealthier women. Blending autobiographical notes with technological details, the author creates a fictional setting so realistic it is unsettling.

One Argentine and one Zambian, both born in colonized countries: how these science fiction authors are bringing a new perspective to surveillance and privacy through a critique of Eurocentrism and colonialism.

A workshop held at PUC-SP featured writer Martha Gabriel, who provided an overview of the importance of analyzing big data to better understand human behavior and create more effective strategies.

Beyond promising better and faster diagnosis for diseases like Parkinson's, the device could also, in the future, store memories and transfer thoughts, which excites transhumanist ideals.

With the recent fatality of model Tales Soares, who died suddenly during a São Paulo Fashion Week runway show, it is not just the fashion industry being called into question: symptoms of burnout are appearing in every market.

In this 10-minute short, the pianist explores technology and nostalgia, offering a glimpse into a dark future that still honors its past.

An article published by PwC Digital Services two years ago already discussed the importance and relevance of the design fiction methodology for innovation and business growth.

Despite the slow pace, more and more brands and designers are looking for ways to create entirely digital collections, which means the clothes only exist in the photos that influencers have been posting on their social media.

Bioengineers are working on creating a 3D-printed material that replaces tissues typically injured by athletes, but which also affect the general population. Although this is a regenerative measure, why couldn't this be a strategy for human body enhancement?

At the beginning of this year, the World Health Organization declared that one of the main alerts for 2019 was the rise and influence of the anti-vaccination movement. At the same time, we are witnessing profound scientific and technological development that sows a future of possibilities. How did we reach such a contrasting scenario?

After discovering her son had type 1 diabetes, Liz, who had never started a company and didn't even have a college degree, founded her own startup and served as patient zero for a gene therapy that had only been tested on mice.

Experiments in Finland and Canada have already demonstrated a reduction in stress and depression rates among beneficiaries, while in Kenya, a decrease in sexual and physical violence against women was also observed. More than just the future of work, universal basic income promises to change our very behavior as a society.

More than just fun, augmented reality filters can trigger body dysmorphia and reinforce cultural behaviors that seek an ideal of beauty—attainable only in the virtual realm—through makeup and surgical procedures.

Although some transhumanist projects believe the "self" is reserved for the brain, an increasing amount of neuroscientific research points to the non-existence of a "self," or suggests that our perception of the world lies in the body-brain relationship rather than being purely cerebral.

Ambiguous results from the Finnish experiment may fuel the arguments of the model's critics, yet at the same time, young people take pride in working long hours and reinforce a love for their work. What kind of future do we want to shape for our role as workers, and how does our consumption need to change to adapt to that?

For over 10 years, virtual concerts have pointed the way toward the future of entertainment and artistic creation, but this past Saturday, the format made history by bringing together millions of users in the game Fortnite.

There has been much discussion about China's surveillance policy and its social credit system; however, the same facial recognition camera approach is already being used in Brazil, though not always for public safety reasons.

In his new book, Team Human, the American researcher discusses how Russian religious figures joined forces with American technologists to inaugurate a dangerous anti-humanist logic that is present in today's market.

How digital subcultures are exploring the concept of beauty by experimenting with new expressions and aesthetics that go beyond the human body.

After developing an app capable of scanning people's bodies for custom-fit clothing, Cairê is now launching Mia: a half-human, half-alien character who is populating Instagram with her sci-fi narratives.

UP Lab launches its new business unit, UP Future Sight, and publishes its first e-book featuring a report on Design Fiction

Since 2015, Chinese scientists have been conducting tests that led to the alleged birth of twin girls without the CCR5 gene, making them immune to HIV, smallpox, and cholera.

In a series of tweets, Daniel Harvey from The Dots network analyzes the tech industry's blind spots. He argues that one person's future is another's dystopia, but that this dystopia isn't made of killer robots—it's made of artificial intelligences biased by human prejudices.

The movement is gaining international momentum by building a community focused on saving money to achieve financial stability and retire between the ages of 30 and 40.

In search of authenticity and freedom of expression, teenagers are creating fake Instagram accounts where they feel comfortable posting unposed and unedited photos.

In 2016, Instituto Update launched a visualization featuring nearly 700 initiatives from 21 different countries that demonstrate trends in democracy and political engagement in the 21st century. Even though it was released two years ago, the research is more relevant than ever.

Following Instagram and Snapchat filters, the Chinese company SenseTime is offering artificial intelligence-based software for real-time selfie and video retouching.

Why do we keep assigning gender to robots that don't even look like human beings, and why is this so relevant?

In an article for the Futurism website, Dan Robitzki shares insights from artificial intelligence experts as they reflect on whether or not it is possible to create an artificial intelligence that surpasses human intellectual capacity.

In an article published on The Guardian's website, Andy Beckett explores the origins of the movement and discusses the current status of this philosophical current, which emerged from science fiction and became a unit within the University of Warwick's philosophy department.

Scientists are developing algorithms that correlate physical traits with moral and behavioral characteristics, reviving a pseudoscience that reinforces prejudices and stereotypes.

In its most comprehensive annual report on emerging technologies, Gartner highlights five trends driven by artificial intelligence and its derivatives, promising a more democratized future with less distinction between human and machine.

For researcher Marina Adshade, sexbot technology could change the concept of marriage by decoupling the relationship between matrimony and access to sex for the second time in human history.

In 1973, science fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin published a short story that addresses the notion of happiness and the high price paid for it at the expense of other human lives.

American psychologists offer a possible explanation for why we believe in fake news, and it has to do with habits cultivated since childhood.

Companies like 23andMe and MyHeritage already offer affordable DNA mapping, but what does it mean to have this data leaked to companies and governments?

Authors like Douglas Rushkoff and Gray Scott advocate for a more inclusive interpretation of transhumanism, envisioning a transition to a future where everyone has access to the possibilities of technology, rather than a post-apocalyptic fantasy for the elite.

By failing to update its identity and communication, the brand ended up disengaging its consumers, who, on the other hand, are more conscious of feminist issues and have more effective options available in the market.

The GenExit study, conducted by Box1824, highlights several behavioral trends among the generation born from 1995 onwards. Among them is the habit of thinking in memes and a rejection of turning people into brands on the internet.

From the Renaissance to 18th-century royal portraits, and from artists' self-portraits to social media selfies: the habit of self-representation through imagery has actually been present in our culture for much longer than the arrival of Millennials.

We extend our reflection on the body positivity movement through the perspective of Amanda Alves, who highlights the importance of education and questioning the foundations of this concept, as well as its historical developments in the media.

Continuing from the previous article, Alissa Mune explores the historical relationship between the pursuit of pleasure, feminine beauty ideals, and how the capitalist industry has co-opted feminist struggles into its market logic.

For journalist Amanda Mull, when brands use the rhetoric of self-love and inclusivity in their campaigns, they aren't actually fostering reflection or structural change.

In its latest issue, The Economist reflects on how the oppressive combination of technology and surveillance in China is already inspiring other countries, and how we might consider the boundary between security and privacy.

The short film The Moment, created by Richard Ramchurn, is an experience individually constructed using a headset that reads and interprets brainwaves to make real-time film editing decisions.

Models and digital influencers created in 3D modeling programs are gaining more and more ground in advertising, but what could this mean for us, human beings?

How the United Nations' children's agency has been using collective cryptocurrency mining as a way to fund better living conditions.

Although the technique is being refined for use on human bodies, would it be ethical to perform it?

A new paper published by researchers from Microsoft, Stanford, and Columbia University discusses the importance of viewing data production as a form of labor rather than a currency for exchange.

In an article for SingularityHub, Raya Bidshahri discusses current consciousness-hacking initiatives and how this human-machine convergence may allow us to reach a new level of consciousness.

A new article published by researchers at the University of Hawaii seeks to quantify the influence of science fiction on the literature of human-machine interaction—and the finding is that this relationship has been growing increasingly strong.

Luxury hotels and schools in China and India are offering their air filtration systems as a perk reserved exclusively for the local elite. For these business owners, clean air has become a commodity.

Cultural and media historian Siva Vaidhyanathan believes that leaving Facebook in protest of the Cambridge Analytica scandal might be a bad decision.

What does the children's book The Missing Piece have to do with the topic of automation and the future of work?

During a lecture at Japan House in São Paulo, a Japanese roboticist demonstrated his Geminoid creation and discussed the human-machine relationship and the future of society in the face of technological development.

How art can become a new, more understandable way to communicate issues surrounding our technologically connected society.

Artist and curator of the Artificial Intelligence Art and Aesthetics exhibition, Hideki Nakazawa, describes the exhibition's rationale and the next steps toward true machine-produced art.

The GravityLight Foundation's mission is to eradicate the use of kerosene lamps, which not only pollute the environment but can also cause fires and fatal health issues.

Raya Bidshahri discusses how, despite our anxiety, many professions associated with creativity and multidisciplinarity will gain even more strength in a landscape where technological development is paired with personal and human development.

With the growing and exponential pace of technological innovation, companies are becoming increasingly interested in purchasing human genetic information. Nebula, however, wants to keep you in control of your own monetized DNA.

A trend report released by Adobe reveals that 2018 will be a year focused on imagery that conveys peace and solitude.

If work is one of the primary elements that give meaning to our lives, the exponential automation of our tasks becomes an invitation to rethink how we define our existence.

Object-oriented ontology, rights for artificial intelligence systems, free will, and speculations on robotics based on Sophia's citizenship and her speeches on human rights

Why are so many realistic robots being created in the image of women, either for sexual purposes or to reinforce existing gender stereotypes?

Algorithms building profiles to target the perfect consumer. Acts of vandalism against fab labs. It’s not science fiction, but it is dystopian, and a lot of people are hungry for it.

From Japanese workers to millennials, capsule hotels are a market niche expected to exceed $200 million by 2020, though access to this solution still needs to be expanded.