Dubai to host world’s largest gathering of futurists for forum at Museum of the Future

Dubai will host 400 futurists in October to decode what the future of humanity might look like across key areas – from the climate crisis to the continuous progress of artificial intelligence. The inaugural Dubai Future Forum on October 10-12 will see the world’s leading experts and innovators convene at the Museum of the Future to discuss, debate and predict the future trajectory of the world.

The forum will host 30 sessions, including panel discussions and live debates on topics that include advances in artificial intelligence (AI) sentience, bridging the digital divide, the readiness of hydrogen to take over the energy mantle from oil and gas, interplanetary colonisation, and a future climate scenario where the 2°C global warming threshold is breached.

Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, said: “The Dubai Future Forum represents a significant levelling-up of our efforts to foresee the future. The global platform in Dubai will host futurists and the world’s brightest minds to anticipate the opportunities and challenges set to shape our societies. It will explore how we can harness emerging technologies and deploy Fourth Industrial Revolution tools to transform challenges into opportunities.

“Human knowledge is growing, and technological advancement is accelerating at a rapid rate. Consequently, we are no longer witnesses to change, we are the drivers of change. We need to be ready to deploy skills and technologies to serve society and enhance quality of life for all.”

Key themes

By convening more than 45 organisations, the forum’s sessions will focus on four main themes.

Each theme will explore how humanity and technology can come together to overcome some of the most urgent crises facing the world right now, from the climate crisis to rising energy prices and ongoing vulnerabilities in global public healthcare infrastructure.

Abdulaziz AlJaziri, deputy CEO and chief operations officer of Dubai Future Foundation, said: “As various existential threats mount, Dubai Future Forum’s discussions will focus on transforming these challenges into opportunities.

“The forum will inspire an alternative outlook on future sectors that will impact our economies, governments, and daily lives. We can achieve giant leaps in the future, but only by applying foresight and future-planning. That is where the Dubai Future Forum will bring tremendous value in helping to shape the future of humanity.”

Future of Our World

This theme will explore the most significant transformations facing individuals, societies and governments, and what they mean for the future 20, 30 and 40 years from now.

A series of workshops will be held by the participating futurists, which will see them examine the impact of paradigm shifts on humanity, in particular the increasing integration of technology in our daily lives and across communities, along with the plethora of ethical implications it brings with it.