Translator: Chryssa Takahashi Reviewer: Yiannis Papanastasopoulos
I feel really lucky, because I managed to reach this level.
I found myself in an incredibly alternating environment,
innovation was flowing with incredible speed and all that
was thanks to a scholarship from TEDxAcademy and the Call to Innovation competition.
Singularity University is a university
where you can clearly see what is happening in the future
and prepare yourself for it.
Next, we will talk about exploration,
exploration of tomorrow, which I experienced in that university.
But before we have a look at tomorrow, let's visit the past first
to get up and go.
For centuries, the evolution of life has been linear.
Which means it was following a static course,
which was in a local environment.
But technology completely changed that linear evolution,
and it gave it an overwhelming tendency.
In the future, technologies such as nanotechnology, robotics,
artificial intelligence, networks, biotechnology,
will bring overwhelming changes to our lives.
Everyday objects around us
like our clothes, our car, our kitchen,
will be interconnected to the internet
and they will gradually have their own independant intelligence.
A translator will be just a simple application.
Real-time translation has already been tested
in any language.
Speaking of applications, 300 teams from all over the world are competing
for the first medical application that will make diagnoses
better than 13 doctors.
Previously, we talked with Ping Fu about 3D printing,
for printing objects.
That technology will bring a real revolution
about your perception of matter.
We will perceive it as a piece of information.
And it's not just the applications in fashion that you saw
or the applications in medicine.
If this is combined with nanotechnology and artificial intelligence
we could be talking about nanofactories.
Namely assemby molecule by molecule
for creating a new smartphone for example,
much more evolved than the ones we all have today.
The amazing thing now is that you no longer have to be a scientist
to make a discovery.
A young person with a bold idea can ask the community for help.
There are dozens of open spaces, social collaboration and creation spaces,
biotechnology spaces, labs or hacker space,
where you can share your knowledge
and get help to realize an idea.
Technology is not just for a social elite, as it was once believed.
Technology has helped mankind a lot
so that the the standard of living is increased.
Despite the various crises we face over time.
See how the worldwide standard of living was in 1800,
in 1900 the European countries jumped ahead.
But today, the standard of living has at least doubled
in every country on the planet.
Could tomorrow be better than what we imagine?
To understand this better,
let's have a look at the characteristics of those technologies.
When something is digitized, potentially, it can reach the point of dematerialization.
And that in turn will bring demonetization
which finally leads to the democratization of a technology.
For that reason, Peter Diamantis, founder at Singularity
believes that in the future we will live in abundance,
we will be able to buy even more things with even less money.
What I really believe is that we will live the age of creation.
That means, social evolution and progress will be based
on the ability that we have to take
all this knowledge that exists in our environment
and create the goods that we need.
That is the age of creation that I experienced at Singularity University.
It was a unique experience that changed my life.
Having professors like Daniel Kraft, who talked earlier,
we had all the necessary supplies and support
to implement every crazy idea of ours.
80 scientists from all over the world, from 40 different countries,
amazing minds with skills and mood to work
day and night to implement an idea.
The sectors that we worked on were public health, energy, environment,
poverty, eductation and ideas were born
that we hadn't even imagined.
They were the most amazing ideas that I had seen until then.
For example, a DVD Player, that uses centrifugation
and liquidation mechanisms to analyze blood, just with a drop of blood.
Smart bee hives, or a device to recognize malaria.
Even a device to recognize cancer,
which was actually printed by a great Greek oncologist.
The conclusion from all that? If you want to solve a social problem of today
the most effective way is to use the technologies of tomorrow.
That's exactly what I proved as well, with the organery project
which managed to win the Call to Innovation competition.
We created the most effective way to manage organice waste
through a network of smart composting.
Thereby optimizing the process.
We can give back more than a million worth yearly to every Greek municipality
from waste management.
The next month we will be at the top of Europe.
We will represent our country to the European Investment Bank
which has included us in the best social European projects.
(Applause)
It wasn't an easy journey.
But I want to give a message of courage and hope to all the young people,
who are facing high unemployment rates,
that are now going out in the job market,
and they cannot survive in that environment.
They don't have to wait for the government or a company to help them.
They can do it on their own. We all now have the ability to create.
The age of creation needs young people to produce
the value that we have lost all these years.
And the right time is now.
Because now we have all the means that we need.
You don't have to the States to do it.
All information is free.
A kid in Ethiopia can create
a virtual human with artificial intelligence.
And I have friends who have done it.
See for example what happened in Cyprus after the confiscation of their fortunes.
They invested in digital currency, which is nothing more
than complex algorithms that cannot be easily hacked, cracked.
Is that what we are called to do today as well?
What the government can't do?
I believe that the crisis will be solved just by a young person, a hacker
who will give a new path and the river will flow by itself
without even knowing it.
(Applause)
The most important thing to get out of the crisis is the support of domestic innovation.
This is the only healthy way.
And I think that what TEDxAcademy has accomplished is very important,
the creation of an ecosystem that supports innovation,
with the incubator Rising Stars, the Call to Innovation competition,
the collaboration with international organizations.
This offering reminds me of Aristotle's words,
that if you trully want to help someone
you don't have to give him a tip, a loan with no return
or an unemployment benefit.
You have to give him knowledge, all the necessary supplies
for him to survive independantly.
I would like you to remember that the key to happiness is freedom.
But the key to freedom is courage.
Courage which arises from our true strength
and passion to succeed.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)