accelerating change

Bernardo Vicente is an economist and researcher deeply interested in the intersection of economics, technology, and culture. He holds a degree in business administration and accounting from Lisbon Polytechnic Institute, along with a specialization in business analytics. Driven by a desire to leverage technology for societal betterment, he has developed an innovative economic theory known as “Harberger Georgism.” Harberger Georgism builds upon the principles of Georgism and Harberger taxation, exploring how Web3 technologies can sustainably develop the digital era and enhance the physical world. This theory aims to potentiate development in the physical world using economic strategies. Currently, Bernardo volunteers as a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, contributing his expertise to the advancement of blockchain technology. His work explores the teleology and utility of emerging technologies like NFTs and the metaverse, aiming to ensure their positive impact on society.

Elizabeth Parrish is the CEO of BioViva, a biotechnology corporation focused on combating cellular aging through the development of regenerative therapies for muscle and tissue. Driven by a humanitarian vision, BioViva strives to make these potentially life-saving therapies accessible to all. Parrish is recognized as a humanitarian entrepreneur, innovator, and a prominent voice advocating for genetic cures. As a strong proponent of education and advancement in regenerative medicine, she is a motivational speaker within the life sciences community and actively engages in international educational media outreach. She is also a founding member of the International Longevity Alliance. Further demonstrating her commitment to scientific discourse and discovery, Parrish is an affiliated member of the Complex Biological Systems Alliance (CBSA), a platform for highly gifted individuals. The CBSA’s mission is to advance scientific understanding of biological complexity and the origins of human disease. She also founded BioTrove Investments, LLC, and BioTrove Podcasts, initiatives dedicated to facilitating learning and funding research in the field of regenerative medicine. Though not raised religiously, Parrish expresses a reverence for nature and emphasizes the importance of self-reliance and action in achieving progress, urging individuals to actively utilize the tools available to them rather than waiting for others.

James Carroll is a speaker and thinker focused on the drivers of technological progress and their implications for the future. He presented at the MTAConf 2014, examining the rate of technological change and questioning whether it is linear or exponential. His 2014 presentation sought to temper overly confident singularitarian views, such as those proposed by Raymond Kurzweil, suggesting that an exponential trajectory was uncertain at best. Building on his previous work, Carroll’s subsequent research has extended the discussion to include additional paradigms for innovation, specifically invention and specialization, trade, and the economics of scale (referred to as the ‘scale’ paradigm). He explores the relationships between these paradigms and population growth, arguing that technology impacts population size by enabling larger populations through advances in food production, reduced epidemics, and lower infant mortality rates. Carroll’s work considers both the impact of technological progress on society, and the societal factors that drive innovation. He argues that understanding these forces is crucial for assessing the potential for transhumanist visions to be realized, and for navigating the future of humanity in a rapidly changing world.

Kurtis Lockhart is an urban development leader, researcher, and the Founder and Director of the Africa Urban Lab (AUL). He holds a PhD in political science from the University of Oxford, where his research examined the impact of institutional reforms on public goods provision in sub-Saharan Africa. He also obtained an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics—where he graduated top of his class—and a BA in Economics and Development Studies from McGill University. While at Oxford, he taught both quantitative methods and African politics, seamlessly bridging rigorous academic theory with real-world development challenges. Before focusing on urban innovation, Lockhart built extensive on-the-ground expertise managing developmental research and randomized control trials. He served as a Research Manager for the International Growth Centre and Warc Africa in Sierra Leone, and for the ELIMU Impact Evaluation Center in Kenya. These early roles across varied sectors solidified his understanding of the complex bottlenecks facing developing regions and underscored the urgent need for scalable, structural solutions. A prominent advocate for innovative governance, Lockhart previously served as Executive Director and Head of Research at the Charter Cities Institute (CCI), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. There, he championed the development of charter cities—new urban centers granted special jurisdiction to enact institutional reforms—as a mechanism to address Africa’s rapid urbanization. Expanding on this mission in 2024, he launched the Africa Urban Lab in Zanzibar. Operating as a “teaching hospital” for urban professionals in partnership with the African School of Economics and CCI, AUL trains the next generation of municipal leaders and planners to transform urban growth into economic prosperity. Lockhart’s broader vision aligns deeply with themes of human progress, emphasizing how institutional evolution can lift communities out of poverty and foster long-term resilience. At the MTAConf 2022, he made a presentation on Charter Cities: Empowered Cities for the Urban Age, illustrating how decentralized, empowered cities can overcome traditional development hurdles. By reimagining city governance as a catalyst for human flourishing, Lockhart continues to shape the future of urban resilience and economic freedom across the Global South.

Raymond Kurzweil , born February 12, 1948, in Queens, New York, is an American inventor, futurist, and author who has been described as “the restless genius” by The Wall Street Journal. He graduated from MIT in 1970 with degrees in computer science and literature. Kurzweil is the principal inventor of numerous groundbreaking technologies, including the first CCD flatbed scanner, omnifont optical character recognition, the first printtospeech reading machine for the blind, the first texttospeech synthesizer, and commercially marketed largevocabulary speech recognition software. He has received the National Medal of Technology, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and holds 21 honorary doctorates. Kurzweil is best known for his writings on the technological singularity—the predicted moment when artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to unprecedented transformation. His influential book The Singularity Is Near (2005) articulates his vision of humanity’s merger with technology, predicting this transformation will occur around 2045. Currently serving as a Principal Researcher and AI Visionary at Google, Kurzweil continues to shape our understanding of exponential technological change and its implications for human potential, making his work foundational to transhumanist philosophy.