David W. Wood, D.Sc.

Chair of London Futurists

As Chair of London Futurists, David has organised over 250 public meetings since March 2008 on futurist and technoprogressive topics. Membership of London Futurists exceeds 9,000, making it the world’s largest future-oriented meetup.

He writes and consults on the anticipation and management of exponential disruption, with a focus on the implications of accelerating waves of new artificial intelligence technologies.

David’s books include The Abolition of Aging, Vital Foresight, Smartphones and Beyond, The Singularity Principles, Sustainable Superabundance, and Transcending Politics.

Previously, David spent 25 years designing, implementing, and trailblazing the use of smart mobile devices, including ten years with pioneering PDA manufacturer Psion PLC, and ten more with smartphone operating system specialist Symbian Ltd, which he co-founded in 1998. At different times, his executive responsibilities at Psion and Symbian included software development, technical consulting, partnering and ecosystem management, and research and innovation. By 2012, his software for UI and application frameworks had been included on 500 million smartphones from companies such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola, LG, Panasonic, Sharp, and Fujitsu.

From 2010 to 2013, David was Technology Planning Lead (CTO) of Accenture Mobility, where he also co-led Accenture’s Mobility Health business initiative.

David has a triple first class mathematics degree from Cambridge and undertook doctoral research in the Philosophy of Science. He has an honorary Doctorate in Science from Westminster University. He is co-chair of the UK node of the Millennium Project, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and sits on the Boards of the IEET (Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies) and the LEV (Longevity Escape Velocity) Foundation.

At the World Stem Cell Summit 2023, David will consider how the intersection of regenerative medicine and healthspan might be transformed, positively or negatively, by the management or mismanagement of new AI technologies.