Geordie Rose is taking a break from tech to do a solo walk across Canada.
Rose is a longstanding anchor of British Columbia’s tech scene. For example, he cofounded quantum computing innovator D-Wave Systems in Burnaby back in 1999, a local entity still active nearly three decades later.
More recently, Rose was known as the chief executive officer of Sanctuary AI, a Vancouver-based robotics pioneer.
The company appeared to be doing well—it raised capital, inked key partnerships, and developed one of the world’s top inventions—but late last year, Rose was forced out of his role at Sanctuary for reasons that still remain partially unclear.
In an interview with The Logic, the serial entrepreneur revealed he is worn out from more than two decades of a grinding lifestyle. He also admitted that his enthusiasm for developing humanoid robots diminished when the field entered the mainstream.
Rose informed The Logic that he plans to trek solo across Canada in May—a journey of roughly 8,000 kilometres. He expects to perform this feat at a pace of more than 20km per day, according to the report.
The former CEO is no stranger to physical fitness, having competed in multiple sports including jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and powerlifting.
But the decision to walk across Canada runs deeper than proving himself physically, which he feels he has already done.
“I have a desire to decouple myself from technology,” Rose told The Logic. “It’s weird because I’ve been working in advanced technology my whole life, but actually don’t like most of it.”
It’s something Rose pondered in his interview, and something he will likely wonder about again during his 8,000km journey: In the future, will much of today’s tech be viewed as poison?
As Rose sets his starting stage in Tofino and finish line in Cape Spear, we’ll see what he has to say by the time he reaches Newfoundland.
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