As the host of Lead With AI, I'm constantly seeking conversations with visionaries who can help us understand how emerging technologies will shape our world. My recent conversation with Dr. Mark van Rijmenam was especially exciting. Recently recognized as the world's best futurist and named by Salesforce as one of the 16 leading voices in AI globally, Dr. van Rijmenam brings a unique perspective on our technological horizon. Based in Australia, he quite literally "lives in tomorrow" — both geographically and intellectually.

Dr. van Rijmenam helps Fortune 500 organizations understand emerging technologies and has written six books, including his forthcoming Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change. He also runs FutureWise, an AI startup helping people overwhelmed by information to find clarity through personalized insights. What struck me most in our conversation was his balanced view of technology's potential — acknowledging both its promise to solve humanity's greatest challenges and the very real risks it presents. Let me share what I learned about where we're headed.

  The Metaverse: Our Next Digital Frontier

Despite widespread skepticism following Facebook's rebranding and massive investments, Dr. van Rijmenam sees the metaverse as far from a fad. He describes it as "the next playground for humanity" — not necessarily because we'll all live in virtual reality, but because we'll add an infinite number of digital layers onto physical reality.

This convergence of physical and digital is where Dr. van Rijmenam sees the most exciting developments. AI makes this possible by creating better devices with spatial intelligence that can map our physical surroundings and create realistic overlays. The main constraint today is hardware — bulky VR headsets weighing half a kilogram simply won't become mainstream. However, within 5-10 years, he predicts we'll move beyond phones and computers to sleek glasses or even smart contact lenses that overlay digital information onto our physical world.

The implications for business are vast. Manufacturing companies could leverage digital twins of their tools and factories for remote interaction and maintenance. Retailers might use augmented reality for wayfinding or advertising. The key, according to Dr. van Rijmenam, is looking at the world from different perspectives — seeing how a tree might also appear as an E, M, or W depending on your viewpoint. This shift in perception will unveil business opportunities we can't yet imagine.

  Navigating the Post-Truth Era

One of the most concerning aspects of our AI-powered future is the erosion of trust through deepfakes and AI-generated content. Dr. van Rijmenam shared a sobering example of an engineering firm called Arup that lost $25.6 million to scammers using deepfake technology. A director received instructions to pay invoices and, though initially skeptical, organized a Zoom board meeting to confirm. Unbeknownst to him, the "board members" on the call were entirely AI-generated deepfakes, convincing enough that he approved the payments.

Contrast this with Ferrari's experience, where a director received a similar call supposedly from the CEO discussing a company takeover. Growing suspicious, the director interrupted to verify identity, asking what book the CEO had given him the previous week. The scammers couldn't answer and quickly hung up, saving Ferrari millions. This highlights what Dr. van Rijmenam believes is our best defense: human verification through information only the real person would know.

The challenge, however, is cultural. In most organizational structures, interrupting a superior to verify their identity would be unthinkable. Dr. van Rijmenam argues we need immediate cultural change, empowering employees to verify identities without fear of reprisal. The same applies in our personal lives — he recommends families establish code words so parents can verify it's really their child on the phone, not a scammer using voice cloning technology to fake a kidnapping scenario.

  Pioneering the Digital Self

Dr. van Rijmenam has personally pushed the boundaries of digital existence. In 2020, as the pandemic emptied his speaking calendar, he pivoted to become "The Digital Speaker" and delivered the world's first TED talk in virtual reality. While he now laughs at the basic avatar quality from five years ago, it represented significant innovation at the time.

This experiment led to an even more ambitious project: creating the world's first digital twin of himself. Launched in late 2023, this AI version of Dr. van Rijmenam can interact with people via text, audio, and video in 29 different languages. It's trained on everything he's said, written, and read over the past 12 years — approximately 6.5 million words. You can WhatsApp his digital twin 24/7 or use an app to have video conversations with a meta-human avatar created in Unreal Engine.

While current digital interaction remains very "2D," Dr. van Rijmenam sees this changing soon. He anticipates that within 5-7 years, we'll be able to have holographic conversations that feel like being in the same room. He stresses that humans are built for 3D interaction, not the flat screens we currently use, and his digital twin represents the first step toward a more natural way of connecting digitally.

  The Convergence Revolution

While much of our discussion focused on AI and the metaverse, Dr. van Rijmenam emphasized that we're experiencing a broader technological convergence that will reshape our world:

● Artificial Intelligence as the catalyst

● Quantum computing

● Blockchain technology

● Robotics

● 3D printing

● Synthetic biology

This convergence creates exponential possibilities as these technologies interact with and enhance each other. Dr. van Rijmenam believes most people underestimate how quickly this transformation is happening and how profoundly it will change our lives.

When I asked what technology deserves more attention, he interestingly named Blockchain — the technology underlying cryptocurrencies — while simultaneously identifying crypto itself as the most overrated technology trend. He sees substantial value in blockchain's capabilities beyond speculative digital assets.

Perhaps most thought-provoking was his perspective on the future of intelligence itself. Dr. van Rijmenam suggests there's no upper limit to intelligence and considers it "misplaced arrogance" to think humans represent the pinnacle of possible intelligence. Within decades, we may develop artificial intelligence infinitely more advanced than our own — both an exciting and terrifying prospect.

  Preparing for Tomorrow's World Today

My conversation with Dr. van Rijmenam left me with much to consider about how we prepare for the future unfolding before us. He advocates being a "techno-optimist" — recognizing technology's potential to improve education, healthcare, and human connection while acknowledging the responsibilities that come with such advancement.

When I asked about the essential skill everyone needs to develop for the next decade, his answer was immediate: adaptability. In a world where intelligence beyond our comprehension may soon exist, our ability to adapt will determine whether we thrive or struggle.

For business leaders and individuals alike, this means beginning to experiment with emerging technologies now. Don't wait for the metaverse to become mainstream before exploring what it means for your industry. Consider how digital twins might transform your operations. Build verification processes that can withstand deepfake attempts. Most importantly, cultivate openness to viewing the world from different perspectives.

As Dr. van Rijmenam aptly puts it, we need more collaboration than competition in developing these technologies. The stakes — potentially the future of humanity itself — are too high for an "us versus them" approach. By working together, we can harness the extraordinary potential of AI, the metaverse, and converging technologies while mitigating their risks.

Whether you're excited or concerned about our technological future, one thing is certain: the world is changing at unprecedented speed. The question isn't whether these technologies will transform our lives, but how we'll shape that transformation. I'm grateful to visionaries like Dr. Mark van Rijmenam for helping us navigate this journey with both optimism and clear-eyed awareness of the challenges ahead.

For more insights on Lead With AI, I invite you to follow my podcast and join the conversation about our technological future. After all, tomorrow is already here — it's just not evenly distributed yet.