Synthetic Minds | Unlock 25% Off Futurwise Today

Join Futurwise Today and Receive a 25% Discount!

Happy holidays, and thanks for being a loyal reader!

Last week I introduced you to Futurwise, your one-click research assistant that lets you read less and know more. Now, as a gift before the holiday season, I’m giving you 25% off an annual subscription.

Stay effortlessly informed during your holiday without spending hours glued to your phone. Futurwise instantly transforms articles, PDFs, videos, and, very soon, podcasts into personalized summaries, so you can enjoy your downtime while staying ahead of the curve.

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Use the code synthetic-minds within the next two weeks—simply click the image above or the link below—to redeem your exclusive discount and pay just $52.50 for a whole year (that’s only $4.35/month, less than one coffee per month!).

Your support doesn’t just unlock a better way to stay informed, it helps us build the intelligence layer of the world’s trusted information and fight back against fake news, overload, and bots poisoning the web. 🙏

Synthetic Snippets from the World's Best Futurist

Quick, curated insights to feed your quest for a better understanding of our evolving synthetic future. The below is just a small selection of my daily updates that I share via The Digital Speaker app.

1. NEWS FLASH OR TRASH? HOW JOURNALISM LOST ITS CLICK

Journalism isn’t dying, it’s committing slow suicide, favoring clicks over credibility. Audiences, especially younger viewers, now flock to podcasts, influencers, and platforms like TikTok, Joe Rogan, and Elon Musk’s X, intensifying polarization. With trust in traditional news stagnant at 40% and 58% globally worried about misinformation, navigating this digital shift demands proactive strategies for integrity. How do you filter trustworthy news from noise? (Reuters Institute)

2. AI EMPIRES ARE RISING, AND MOST OF THE WORLD IS LOCKED OUT

The next Cold War won’t be over land or ideology, it’s a silent scramble for GPUs. The U.S. and China control 90% of AI compute, leaving over 150 nations digitally dependent. From science to security, power now flows through chips. As AI infrastructure becomes the new oil rig, will nations build sovereignty, or rent their futures byte by byte? What’s your country’s digital fallback plan? (NY Times)

3. SILICON SANDS: CAN TRILLIONS TURN OIL STATES INTO AI EMPIRES?

The Gulf isn’t just throwing money at AI, it’s rewriting its economic DNA. With $2T pledged across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, the region is betting big on chips, cloud, and quantum. But trillion-dollar ambition still needs execution, talent, and trust. Can the Gulf turn chequebooks into code, and craft an AI identity, not just infrastructure? Who truly wins: the richest or the wisest? (Rest of World)

4. WHEN BOTS BUY FROM BOTS: THE AD GAME JUST FLIPPED

Advertising is no longer driven by Mad Men, it’s run by machines. At Cannes, AI stole the spotlight, as platforms like Meta and Google let algorithms create, target, and even interpret ads. With 8 of the top 10 ad sellers now tech giants, creativity is being coded. When bots shape both messaging and meaning, who really owns the narrative: the brand, the buyer, or the algorithm? (The Economist)

5. CAN YOU DISCIPLINE THE INTERNET WITHOUT LOSING IT? ROBLOX THINKS SO

Turns out, banning bad behavior doesn’t kill engagement, it improves it. Roblox’s 770,000-user study shows early, longer suspensions reduce toxic behavior by up to 12.6%, with no drop in retention. Discipline, done right, makes users better, not bitter. If Roblox can align growth with integrity, why can’t the rest of the internet? Maybe it’s time we reprogram how we enforce digital trust. (Fast Company)

Bring the World's Best Futurist to Your Next Event – Let’s Talk!

We’re entering a world where intelligence is synthetic, reality is augmented, and the old rules no longer apply. In my upcoming book, Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change, I explore how exponential technologies aren’t just disrupting industries, they’re reshaping how we work, collaborate, and create value. I offer a practical, CEO-ready framework that helps visionary organizations embrace disruption, turning it from threat to strategic advantage. Ready to ride the wave? Just hit reply, and let’s start the conversation.

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Thanks for reading!

— Mark