Ben Hammersley

Biography

Inventor of the word “podcast”, Ben Hammersley is a well-decorated British futurist and tech guru with contributor status at Wired UK plus an RSA, RCS and UN fellowship. As a presenter, he’s narrated a 6-part series on cybercrime for the BBC as well as the popular “Futureproof Yourself” 5-parter. Ben also has been featured on BBC Radio 4 and worked for The Times, The Guardian and Wired UK. It was at The Guardian where he coined the term “podcast” in 2004 – later awarded Word of the Year in 2005 by the New Oxford American Dictionary and used widely today.

In 2013, Ben was appointed Ambassador to Tech City by the UK Prime Minister and that same year, he became a fellow at the Robert Schuman School for Advanced Studies, joined as Innovator-in-Residence at Goldsmiths, participated in the High-Level Expert Group on Media Freedom for the European Commission and became a fellow of the Brookings Institution. Furthermore, he’s written several books, received a UNAOC fellowship and joined the Transatlantic Network 2020. As a speaker, Ben is engaging and thought-proving with a unique perspective derived from years as a journalist and consultant. His approach is perfect for audiences who are interested in where tech will take us in the near future including artificial intelligence and machine learning.