Every year I travel the world as part of my job to discover, discuss and share the future with people from all walks of life. And what I found is this: the future is likely to be better than we think – but we need to design and govern it wisely! Just two decades in, the twenty-first century has already presented us with a massive economic crash, geopolitical quagmires and worrisome swings towards popularism. This may not be the optimal context for heralding a New Renaissance - but then again, the original renaissance wasn't born in idyllic circumstances either. Rather, it was a literal rebirth of human culture.

Artificial intelligence is becoming the fastest disruptor and generator of wealth in history. It will have a major impact on everything. Over the next decade, more than half of the jobs today will disappear and be replaced by AI and the next generation of robotics. AI has the potential to cure diseases, enable smarter cities, tackle many of our environmental challenges, and potentially redefine poverty. There are still many questions to ask about AI and what can go wrong.

Artificial intelligence is becoming the fastest disruptor and generator of wealth in history. It will have a major impact on everything. Over the next decade, more than half of the jobs today will disappear and be replaced by AI and the next generation of robotics. AI has the potential to cure diseases, enable smarter cities, tackle many of our environmental challenges, and potentially redefine poverty. There are still many questions to ask about AI and what can go wrong.

Ireland is witnessing a new age of technological and creative innovation with Cork, Dublin and Galway ranking highest in terms of new ways of sharing, creating and innovating respectively. This is according to the New Renaissance Hotspots Report, commissioned by Huawei and authored independently by the Institute of Arts and Ideas and Kjaer Global. The in-depth analysis scored cities based on key indicators, such as the number of creative and knowledge-based jobs, levels of engagement with digital creativity and cultural activities, as well as the diversity of integration with new technologies. It also considered how well cities were prepared for the future, analysing the number of graduates in key creative and technology-based fields and looking at applications for patents in ICT. The study predicts that the New Renaissance will be responsible for the creation of more than 1.1 million jobs across Europe by 2025 and 1.47 million jobs by 2030.

Why have humans created machines? Technology is born from the human desire to save time in order to invest it in fantasy. Technology generates time and space for the activities that make us quintessentially human: creativity and entrepreneurship, inventiveness, and empathy. It serves us by alleviating suffering and creating solutions to grow and fulfil our aspirations – from curing cancer to landing on Mars. But humankind's most common mistake is to forget their ends, as Nietzsche warned.

Why have humans created machines? Technology is born from the human desire to save time in order to invest it in fantasy. Technology generates time and space for the activities that make us quintessentially human: creativity and entrepreneurship, inventiveness, and empathy. It serves us by alleviating suffering and creating solutions to grow and fulfil our aspirations – from curing cancer to landing on Mars. But humankind's most common mistake is to forget their ends, as Nietzsche warned.