New BBC Horizons series covers how far tech has come in past 5 years

The latest series of BBC World News show Horizons has kicked off and it looks like it could be a goodie for tech lovers.

The show, hosted by veteran journalist Adam Shaw, will start off with a look at technologies covered in the show from the last five years, before continuing his search for new ground breaking science and technological advances.

Topics that will be covered in episodes during October include Biomimicry, The Energy Evolution, Tech Med and Frontier Farms.

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“Five years ago we set off on a journey across the globe,” Shaw says in a blog post accompanying the first episode. “Our aim was to seek out new science and technology which could revolutionise our lives, our homes and our economies in the decades ahead”.

“Over that period our team has been to more than forty countries. We have conducted around 400 interviews and visited 300 companies and organisations,” he says describing the need for a retrospective. “We have spoken to some of the world’s most influential opinion formers — from chief executives and entrepreneurs to scientists and academics. Bill Ford and Bill Gates have told us what they think the future will look like. I once flew in a helicopter with Howard Buffett, a member of one of the world’s richest families, and grabbed him as the door flew open mid-flight. I’ve drunk water that was deliberately polluted with dog poo to see if a filter worked. I’ve been stuck in an experimental transport tube in China, stuck on a Velcro wall in the USA and stuck on an unruly camel in Israel”.

Looking forward, Shaw says that shows like Horizons will become increasingly important along with our reliance on technology.

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“We live in an age of science and technology and have come to rely on experts to solve our problems like no generation before us,” says Shaw. “The irony is that, as science becomes so much more important to us, we understand less and less about the mechanics of the technologies which power our lives”.

“We increasingly see science solutions as a black box which offers us great advantages but whose secrets are hidden from us. What’s great about the Horizons series is that it opens that box and aims to explain the fun, excitement and importance of the work scientists are doing around the world to help us all achieve better, more fulfilled and longer lasting lives.”