Join AI Corner host Mike Bayly and guest Ben Reid, technology futurist and founder of Memia, to explore how exponential technology is reshaping New Zealand’s future.
This interview was originally published on The AI Corner Thought Leadership Series. Watch the full episode on YouTube:
Join AI Corner host Mike Bayly and guest Ben Reid, technology futurist and founder of Memia, to explore how exponential technology is reshaping New Zealand’s future. You’ll hear Ben’s journey from philosophy student to founding executive director of the AI Forum NZ, his thesis on why Western nations have surrendered sovereignty to hyperscale cloud providers, and his prediction of an imminent AI investment correction. Plus his take on why AI agents are overhyped, how China is playing a three-horse race across software, energy and robotics, and why open source investment is the only path forward for countries outside the US and China.
In this episode we discuss:
00:00 – Intro & guest bio
00:28 – Early computing and science fiction influences
03:20 – Ray Kurzweil and the singularity thesis
08:03 – Is the singularity scary or exciting?
14:15 – Technology speciation and homo capitalists
18:07 – New Zealand’s AI position globally
19:59 – The coming AI bubble correction
23:17 – Tech feudalism and digital sovereignty
29:31 – US versus China AI dynamics
35:49 – Why AI agents are overhyped
44:51 – Robotics and biotech as the next frontier
49:09 – Tool recommendations and getting started
55:17 – Outro & next steps
BEN’S LINKEDIN:
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