I embodied an avatar. I spoke with a robot. I typed via brainwaves. I rescued a man from a disaster zone a world away.
XPRIZE has officially blown my mind. "Today, any of us can truly change the world and that's what this program, this gathering is truly about." Peter Diamandis inspired us all, delving into how to best build bridges to abundance here at the XPrize Visioneers Summit.
Allow me to elaborate a bit… I took over an avatar and felt as if my hands were those holding cups and pouring marbles from one to another. I held a real time conversation with a smiling, blinking, responsive robot. I wrote out full sentences on a laptop using solely the neurosensor on my arm. I raced around a collapsed building to pick up and move objects thanks to virtual reality headsets and handsets.
That is but the tip of the iceberg from this outrageous weekend. Bold innovators shared master proposals for early cancer detection, assistive tech for ALS patients, living building materials, viable affordable housing, VR/AR to generate empathy and combat racial bias, cost-effective waste-free desalination, safe reused drinking water, limitless general avatars, abundant nutritious food for all. It was an honor to serve as a mentor and collaborate with diverse geniuses.
The world needs more of everything that XPrize and the insanely brilliant humans who are a part of this community believe in, stand for, dream up, design, and then bring to life. Scalable solutions boldly address the most pressing global challenges that neither governments nor market forces have tackled/are tackling/will tackle effectively. Successes and failures rapidly expand the possibilities in engineering, arts, and science, while sparking new depths of collaboration among academia, industry, and philanthropy – and activating and exciting the masses.
Meet Erin Erin (transported!), Avatar Erin and my new friend Muhammad, who left Syria a few years ago to study robotics in Japan, where he still lives. His brother crossed through Lesvos as a refugee when I was there earlier this year. What a world!!
Learn more about the XPRIZE Visioneer's Summit!