Kitty Horlick
Exclusive Agent
Kitty Horlick is the founder of Blackwood, a consultancy firm focused on onboarding traditional businesses into emergent technologies including AI and web3-associated technologies such as blockchain, NFTs, zero-knowledge cryptography and cryptocurrencies.
Kitty is also a Director at Rarify Labs which uses blockchain and cutting-edge cryptography to tackle challenges to digital identity. The threat from AI is a key focus of her work. From deep fakes that can co-opt a person’s likeness for fake videos, to AI-generated images, such as the image of the Pentagon exploding which destabilised the S&P, AI has made the world a less reliable place. Providing provenance for content, data, and online identity credentials is becoming increasingly urgent, and as a technology defined by its traceability and security, blockchain is rapidly becoming the antidote.
Kitty is a long-term adopter of cryptocurrencies and NFTs with over six years of experience in the space. As early as 2017, she joined Ehab – a start-up devoted to revolutionising the construction industry through blockchain. She is an insider, deeply embedded in the industry and with her finger closely on the pulse of the latest trends and challenges.
In 2023 Kitty was the expert chosen to appear on a BBC Radio 4 programme examining crypto, blockchain and web3.
Though a deep believer in the disruptive potentials of AI, blockchain, the metaverse, and NFTs, Kitty is not an evangelist. Her focus as a speaker and consultant is on delineating the substance from the hype, and deftly identifying both the opportunities, and risks that these technologies present. Her goal is to enable audiences to make informed decisions about exactly how society and businesses can enjoy the benefits and tackle the challenges that these promising innovations present. She provides detailed case studies of both successful and unsuccessful projects to shed light on what works and what doesn’t.
Kitty also has a particular interest in digital fine art and its intersection with the NFT market and wrote bi-monthly columns for gallery Unit London. Her writing addresses topics including the rise of AI in art, using NFTs to improve provenance and establish authenticity, and distinguishing between digital fine art and other NFT use cases.
In addition to her background in blockchain, Kitty is an experienced communications expert and a vivid storyteller. She has worked as a PR executive for Portland Communications, and a multi-media journalist, writing for publications such as The Sunday Times and producing award-winning documentaries.
Blackwood was born out of her frustration that the growth and adoption of revolutionary tech were being stunted by a lack of clear and relatable expert guidance.
As well as providing powerful insights into the possibilities of the metaverse, Kitty suffuses her talks with gripping anecdotes from her on-the-ground experience in the wild world of blockchain, most recently, for instance, staying with bitcoin-mining cow herds in the Caucus mountains.
AI Speech for Financial Times Alpha Grid
AI Talk for Emergent
NFTs Keynote
Metaverse Discussion Panellist
What Does the Future of Digital Social Identity Look Like?
Testimonial
Kitty delivered a fantastic keynote address to our team of content producers, providing insightful perspectives on the cutting-edge subjects of Web3, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and AI. She skillfully integrated insider insights with a balanced perspective. Thank you, Kitty!
“Florence Davies Kirsop – Attendee at Software CornwallWeb 3.0 is an area I know the basics about, but Kitty did an incredible job of making the information shared accessible to all. I left feeling inspired that although developing technologies can be intimidating, they have the ability to support a better world.”
“Kitty was fantastic, we had brilliant feedback from attendees and she was lovely to work with”