“I want people to pay more attention to the application of technology”

He runs a promising start-up in decentralized data storage, does business in data security, writes articles for the World Economic Forum and speaks passionately about technology, innovation and the impact on society: Yori Kamphuis is a versatile man. He will during it FHI Federation Congress speak based on the main theme 'Life in the Cyber World, our adventure journey between pitfalls'. By: Dimitri Reijerman Kamphuis sees himself as a futurist, but says he is mainly interested in the here-and-now with regard to technology: “The future is extremely interesting. We don't know exactly what it will be, but we are already seeing many developments in society and the new technology that has been designed. But how fast is it actually going? What can we do now? And where are we right now? I want to answer those questions,” says the young entrepreneur. Using a number of examples, Kamphuis would like to outline what the state of affairs is in 2018 during his keynote at the FHI Federation Congress: “From robotics and AI to nanotechnology, why is that important?” At the same time, the futurist also promises to put the associated dilemmas on the table: “Is it true that we are now always allowed to do everything? Or are there dilemmas associated with that? That's an interesting question,” he says.

Poorly informed

According to Kamphuis, many people are not sufficiently informed about what is currently going on within the broad playing field of technology. In addition, certain technology that is currently 'hot' has often existed for much longer than is generally known. Kamphuis mentions 3D printers as an example. This has been in the works since the 1980s. “We sometimes seem to be surprised by the speed, or the slowness, with which things arise. That is remarkable,” said Kamphuis. Yet futurists are also regularly wrong with their reflections. Kamphuis does not want to go down that path: “What I don't want to do is predict an exact percentage of the number of jobs that will be lost due to robotics,” says Kamphuis. “I want people to pay more attention to the application of technology. It's not just scary or just beautiful. There are concrete challenges involved.” There are already numerous examples that are generating a social discussion. Think of Facebook. “What is a good way to go? We must also consider that. These are exactly the type of issues I want to address.”

Cutting edge technology

In addition to his work as a trend watcher, Kamphuis is also busy with his start-up Storro cutting edge technology that, according to his colleagues, will have a major impact on society. Using blockchain technology, Storro stores data decentrally and encrypted in multiple places. The young company mainly focuses on SMEs. At the same time, Kamphuis also writes articles for leading organizations describing future scenarios. “I recently wrote a piece for the World Economic Forum about urbanization. In it I describe a scenario in which cities may actually de-urbanize in the future. Very fascinating.” Looking to the future with a personal view, the futurist sees making the planet more sustainable as the greatest challenge. “We are taking steps in this direction, but I sometimes think that too little or too little is being done. Then think of the cities that are in danger of becoming uninhabitable because temperatures will rise by 8 degrees by the end of this century. There lies a major challenge for all of us.”