Futures & Foresight

We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.

Technology is often accused of causing loneliness. But tech firms always have the perfect solution: more tech!

In India's scorching summer heat, the ancient practice of chilling water in terracotta pots is inspiring new trends – from cooling towers to screens for buildings.

Cheap, low-energy evaporative cooling devices are keeping water, food, people, and even whole buildings cool across India.

A number of respondents to this canvassing about the likely future of social and civic innovation shared concerns. Some said that technology causes more

Windows into possibilities beyond human-centered AI

Reprint: R0309B For most of the last 50 years, technology knew its place. Yes, we all spent a lot of time with it, but even five years ago, few people would seriously claim that technology had taken over their lives. It’s very different today. Technology is not only ubiquitous but has become highly intrusive as well. On the Internet, people invent imaginary identities in virtual chat rooms, playing out the lives they wish they really lived. Children are growing up with interactive toy animals that respond to them like real pets. Indeed, some critics claim that technology has not just entered our private lives but started to define them. If we want to be sure we’ll like who we’ve become in 50 years, we need to take a closer look at the psychological effects of current and future technologies. The smartest people in technology have already started. Universities like MIT and Caltech have been pouring millions of dollars into researching what happens when technology and humanity meet. To learn more about this research, HBR senior editor Diane L. Coutu spoke with one of the field’s most distinguished scholars: Sherry Turkle, MIT’s Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society and the author of Life on the Screen, which explores how the Internet is changing the way we define ourselves. In a conversation with Coutu, Turkle discusses the psychological dynamics that can develop between people and their high-tech toys, describes ways in which machines might substitute for managers, and explains how technology is redefining what it means to be human. She warns that relatively small differences in technology design can have disproportionate effects on how humans relate to technology, to one another, and to themselves.

If you started watching a movie from the middle without knowing its plot, you'd likely be better at inferring what had happened earlier than predicting what will happen next, according to a new Dartmouth-led ...

Oh wow, a definitions discussion … how exciting. Bear with me. I think there is some juicy stuff here! We futurists all know the struggle with different interpretations of key terms. Variety is the spice of  life, but it can be a pain when trying to explain our work. Let’s start with good news. I’m seeing much more interest in…

I’m sure every futurist has been asked this question. Maybe lots of times. We may have developed a stock answer. We may vary it. I was asked recently and I thought back to 2007, when I was fresh off the publication of the first edition of Thinking about the Future with Peter Bishop. We gathered statements from the three dozen…

The deployment of low-tech requires taking into account the human factor and changing design practices.

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Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) are climate change scenarios of projected socioeconomic global changes up to 2100 as defined in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report on climate change in 2021. They are used to derive greenhouse gas emissions scenarios with different climate policies. The SSPs provide narratives describing alternative socio-economic developments. These storylines are a qualitative description of logic relating elements of the narratives to each other. In terms of quantitative elements, they provide data accompanying the scenarios on national population, urbanization and GDP. The SSPs can be quantified with various Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) to explore possible future pathways both with regards to socioeconomic and climate pathways.

TOKYO, July 11, 2024 — Saurabh Mukherjea, founder and CIO of Marcellus Investment Managers, dives deep into India's evolving economic landscape in this exclusive discussion. Mukherjea explains how the world's fifth-largest economy is shaping a new elite class, driven by explosive growth in digital infrastructure, SME lending, and mobile commerce. He also delves into the success stories behind India's booming stock market, the impact of Japan's investments, and the surprising rise of women and local graduates leading the charge. Jesper Koll, chair of policy committee at Asia Society Japan, moderates the conversation. (1 hr., 6 min.) Subscribe for more videos like this: http://AsiaSociety.org/YouTube --- Support Asia Society today: http://AsiaSociety.org/Donate --- Subscribe to our newsletter to stay connected: https://asiasociety.org/email-subscriptions --- Facebook: http://facebook.com/AsiaSociety Instagram: http://instagram.com/AsiaSociety Twitter: http://twitter.com/AsiaSociety LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/asia-society/ #asiasociety #asiasocietyjapan

Over the past two centuries, economic growth has freed billions from poverty and made our lives far healthier and longer. As a result, the unfettered…

Geci Karuri-Sebina on Indigenous Views on the FutureModerated by Daniele Botti2023 annual Global Justice Program conferenceYale UniversityNovember 4, 2023Gec...

Ngugi describes this book as "a summary of some of the …

Based on extensive foresight research by leading futurists Sohail Inayatullah and Ivana Milojevic, the radar maps out 12 pivotal themes that are shaping the futures of food systems and paradigms.

It is a cyclic, iterative process which means that you continue to capture and use the learning you have as you go forward.

A startpage with online resources about Strategic Foresight & Futures Studies Collection, created by Wensupu Yang.

Quantumrun Foresight is a trend intelligence and strategic foresight agency that helps corporations and government agencies create future-ready business and policy solutions.