Dr. Miriam J.S. Leis

Miriam J.S. Leis, Ph.D. works as foresight researcher at a leading Dutch research institute, specializing in emerging technologies (e.g. NBIC, biomedical engineering, Human Enhancement Technologies (HET), advanced robotics and AI, synthetic biology), future issues (e.g. megatrends, weak signals, Grand Challenges), ELSI/ELSA of emerging technologies, vision assessment and foresight methodology. She is working on several foresight-oriented advisory projects for innovation strategy, (future) technology assessment, and the evaluation of ethical, legal and societal implications (ELSI) of emerging technologies.
 
Miriam has studied political science and sociology with a focus on biopolitics and obtained her Ph.D. in sociology (magna cum laude, University Konstanz, Germany) with an interdisciplinary oriented thesis about non-industrial robotics. Her Ph.D. dissertation was Robots — Our Future Partners?! A Sociologist’s View from a German and Japanese Perspective.
 
As a volunteer she is especially involved in a variety of future-oriented NGOs and assessing futurist concepts and developments such as “singularity studies”, “theoretical transhumanism”, as well as the prospects of human enhancement technologies and life extension.
 
Miriam’s first language is German and she is fluent in English, has good knowledge of Japanese, and has basic knowledge of French, Arabic, and Dutch. Watch Colony 5 – Future – Technoprogressive Lyrics. Read her LinkedIn profile and her blog. Visit her website.