Luke Robert Mason is a futures theorist who studies the technological developments that will alter what it means to be human. Throughout his career he has interviewed hundreds of the world’s most influential thinkers on their vision for the future. These insights have informed his collaborations with innovators in the fields of advanced science, emerging technology and the arts and have provided him with a unique perspective on the world of tomorrow.
Mason is the host of the FUTURES Podcast where he explores the topics of artificial intelligence, human enhancement, space travel and virtual reality. Drawing on his work as director of Virtual Futures, he is best known for curating highly-engaging futures-themed public events in partnership with various institutions including the British Library, Science Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, IBM Watson & Nesta.
He is also the host of the Futurism web documentary series ‘Science Nonfiction.‘ The first season followed his journey as he traveled across the USA to meet companies that are rewriting the rules of what’s possible. In each episode, he learned about the development of technologies that once only existed in science fiction, and are now beginning to show up in our homes, cars, and workplaces.
Mason has presented visiting lectures at the Royal College of Art, Royal Academy of Art, Pratt Institute, the University of Warwick and the London School of Economics; is regularly asked to keynote, panel moderate and host some of the world’s leading technology, philosophy and media conferences; and is regularly asked to contribute to BBC Television, BBC Radio, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.
As the founder of the production company No Troublemakers Media he has produced a wide variety of popular podcasts, and has created science-based content for a range of clients including MIT Technology Review and PBS.
He is currently an ESRC-funded postgraduate student at the University of Warwick where he is studying towards a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on the public perception of robots. He holds a MA in Media Arts Philosophy Practice from the Centre for Fine Arts Research (CFAR) based at the Birmingham Institute for Art and Design (BIAD), and a BA (First-Class Honors) in Theatre, Performance and Cultural Studies from the University of Warwick. He is a proud member of the artist collective The Institute of Unnecessary Research (IUR).
FUTURES Podcast
On the FUTURES Podcast, host Luke Robert Mason explores the multitude of possible tomorrows by meeting the scientists and technologists working on the developments that might dramatically alter what it means to be human, and the artists, philosophers and science fiction authors who dare to imagine the world of tomorrow. Some of their predictions will be preferable, while others might seem impossible, but none of them are inevitable.