Go directly to the YouTube version, or the entire Youtube TFS playlist. Download all videos via Gerd’s Vimeo channel.

Many activities and tasks that were previously done manually will increasingly be done automatically, i.e. by machines or by smart technology and ultra-intelligent software. Witness what Google maps or the now Google-owned Waze offers compared to printed maps or even navigation devices, and what Google Now dishes up compared to old-fashioned task lists and paper-based calendars. Automation is everywhere, from driving and traffic to dating to health services to search, social media, data-storage and cloud computing. Automation often offers unprecedented convenience, speed and tantalising ease of use – imagine if an Amazon drone could indeed deliver your desired goods within 30 minutes, or if Google could generate automated research reports with a click of a button. But should everything be automated- or otherwise mediated – just because it can? Should everyone have their DNA tested before going on a serious date just because it my be almost free (and automatic) to do so?  Is the already rampant ‘outsourcing of our brains’ to mobile devices and cloud-based services really a good idea, once taken to the extreme? Last but not least, the process of automation also has huge implications for jobs, work and education (see episode 3) – where will this trend take us in the next 5-10 years?

Related: watch Gerd Leonhard’s presentation on the future of the Internet (ITU BKK 2013)