Bio

Trond is a futurist, scholar, podcaster, venture partner, nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Council, co-founder of Yegii, and Lead Ecosystem evangelist at Tulip. He formerly worked with MIT, WPP, Oracle, and the EU. He’s a co-author (with Natan Linder) of Augmented Lean (Wiley 2022), an author of Health Tech (Routledge 2021), Future Tech (Kogan Page 2021), Pandemic Aftermath (Atmosphere Press 2020), Disruption Games (Atmosphere Press 2020), and Leadership From Below (Lulu Press 2008). In addition, he hosts two podcasts, Augmented and Futurized, and is a Forbes columnist. He holds a Ph.D. on the future of work and artificial intelligence.

Academic Appointments

  • Social Science Research Scholar, Center for International Security and Cooperation

Honors & Awards

  • Interoperability Fellow, Open Forum Academy, Belgium (2010-2012)
  • Marketing Fellow, Hogenheuvelcollege, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (2010-2011)
  • Salzburg Fellow, Salzburg Global Seminar (2005)
  • Erasmus scholar, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (University of Trondheim) (1993 and 1995)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Ad hoc reviewer, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society (2024 - Present)
  • Ad hoc reviewer, Polity Books (2023 - Present)
  • Ad hoc reviewer, Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance (2024 - Present)
  • Editorial Board, Humanities & Social Sciences Communications (2024 - Present)
  • Member, Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) (2024 - Present)

Additional Info

Links

Research Interests

  • Psychology
  • Research Methods
  • Science Education
  • Sociology
  • Standards

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Leading an effort to identify the key characteristics of the 21st century’s advanced workforce skills.

2023-24 Courses

All Publications

  • An interdisciplinary review of systemic risk factors leading up to existential risks PROGRESS IN DISASTER SCIENCE Undheim, T. 2024; 22

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.pdisas.2024.100326

    View details for Web of Science ID 001239981600001

  • Dyadic risk mechanisms-a nomenclature for 36 proto-cascading effects determining humanity's future EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF FUTURES RESEARCH Undheim, T. 2024; 12 (1)

    View details for DOI 10.1186/s40309-024-00228-2

    View details for Web of Science ID 001191263700001

  • In search of better methods for the longitudinal assessment of tech-derived X-risks: How five leading scenario planning efforts can help TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY Undheim, T. 2024; 77

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102505

    View details for Web of Science ID 001216103900001

  • The whack-a-mole governance challenge for AI-enabled synthetic biology: literature review and emerging frameworks FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY Undheim, T. 2024; 12: 1359768

    Abstract

    AI-enabled synthetic biology has tremendous potential but also significantly increases biorisks and brings about a new set of dual use concerns. The picture is complicated given the vast innovations envisioned to emerge by combining emerging technologies, as AI-enabled synthetic biology potentially scales up bioengineering into industrial biomanufacturing. However, the literature review indicates that goals such as maintaining a reasonable scope for innovation, or more ambitiously to foster a huge bioeconomy do not necessarily contrast with biosafety, but need to go hand in hand. This paper presents a literature review of the issues and describes emerging frameworks for policy and practice that transverse the options of command-and-control, stewardship, bottom-up, and laissez-faire governance. How to achieve early warning systems that enable prevention and mitigation of future AI-enabled biohazards from the lab, from deliberate misuse, or from the public realm, will constantly need to evolve, and adaptive, interactive approaches should emerge. Although biorisk is subject to an established governance regime, and scientists generally adhere to biosafety protocols, even experimental, but legitimate use by scientists could lead to unexpected developments. Recent advances in chatbots enabled by generative AI have revived fears that advanced biological insight can more easily get into the hands of malignant individuals or organizations. Given these sets of issues, society needs to rethink how AI-enabled synthetic biology should be governed. The suggested way to visualize the challenge at hand is whack-a-mole governance, although the emerging solutions are perhaps not so different either.

    View details for DOI 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1359768

    View details for Web of Science ID 001182174300001

    View details for PubMedID 38481570

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10933118

  • Augmented Lean: A Human-Centric Framework for Managing Frontline Operations Linder, N., Undheim, T. Wiley. 2022
  • Health Tech: Rebooting Society's Software, Hardware and Mindset Undheim, T. Routledge. 2021
  • Future Tech: How to Capture Value from Disruptive Industry Trends Undheim, T. Kogan Page. 2021
  • Pandemic Aftermath: How Coronavirus Changes Global Society Undheim, T. Atmosphere Press. 2020
  • Disruption Games: How to Thrive on Serial Failure Undheim, T. Atmosphere Press. 2020
  • The java community process standardization, interoperability, transparency 7th International Conference on Standardization and Innovation in Information Technology (SIIT) Curran, P., Undheim, T. 2011
  • Leadership from Below Undheim, T. Lulu.com. 2008
  • Getting connected: How sociologists can access the high tech elite The Qualitative Report Undheim, T. 2003; 8 (1)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8454-3915