Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-12DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103692
Bruce E. Tonn , Chloe J. Hill
Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the volume of research on topics that cover the futures of humanity and life on Earth. This paper makes a case for the establishment of a new subdiscipline to capture research under the field of futures studies called Transcendental Futures. We believe that this is necessary for two main reasons: 1) to consolidate, weave together and expand on this ongoing futures research across areas such as human extinction, global catastrophic risk, collapse, and obligations to future generations, which we believe would add to the richness and robustness of the field of futures; and 2) to better articulate and communicate the existence of such research to stakeholders outside of the world of academia that are involved in the delivery of important cross-sectoral socioeconomic and environmental initiatives, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Pact for the Future, and who would benefit from having access to more synthesized knowledge that comes out of our field of futures studies. We also believe that the establishment of this new subdiscipline will help to illuminate and help answer vital research questions that are essential for accelerating progress towards safeguarding the survival of life on Earth.
{"title":"Capturing the expanding research areas of the future of humanity within the field of futures studies: The case for a transcendental futures subdiscipline","authors":"Bruce E. Tonn , Chloe J. Hill","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103692","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103692","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the volume of research on topics that cover the futures of humanity and life on Earth. This paper makes a case for the establishment of a new subdiscipline to capture research under the field of futures studies called <em>Transcendental Futures</em>. We believe that this is necessary for two main reasons: 1) to consolidate, weave together and expand on this ongoing futures research across areas such as human extinction, global catastrophic risk, collapse, and obligations to future generations, which we believe would add to the richness and robustness of the field of futures; and 2) to better articulate and communicate the existence of such research to stakeholders outside of the world of academia that are involved in the delivery of important cross-sectoral socioeconomic and environmental initiatives, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Pact for the Future, and who would benefit from having access to more synthesized knowledge that comes out of our field of futures studies. We also believe that the establishment of this new subdiscipline will help to illuminate and help answer vital research questions that are essential for accelerating progress towards safeguarding the survival of life on Earth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103692"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-04DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103691
Wouter de Rijk, Joram Feitsma
Over the past five decades, environmental policymaking has been heavily concerned with developing anticipatory governance capacities and designing ‘future-proof’ institutions. The literature broadly indicates that the field of governmental futuring has evolved within the past decades from ‘forecasting to foresight’, allowing more room for openness and pluralism in futuring work. This sharply differs from the contemporary critical theory analysis of ‘future cancellation’, which claims that our contemporary moment has become incapable of envisioning alternative futures beyond the late capitalist status quo. In this study we seek to empirically explore future cancellation in the context of Dutch environmental governance, a field with a long tradition of institutionalized anticipatory capacities. We conducted a longitudinal discourse analysis of a total of 20 reports from two future-oriented scientific institutes within Dutch government, tracing historical shifts in dominant futuring methods and environmental future imaginaries, and the extent to which these open or instead close the collective views of the future. Our analysis shows that, following the future cancellation thesis, futuring methods and environmental future imaginaries have over time converged into a narrower imagination of the future. This is, however, far from a stable, linear and deterministic process – as the broad-brush thesis of future cancellation might suggest. Rather, we distinguish four distinct periods, characterized by historically contingent processes of future opening and cancellation. When studied in-depth and in historical context, future cancellation in environmental futures research appears of a more shifty nature, both related to futuring methods and the presence of dominant environmental future imaginaries.
{"title":"The shifty dynamics of future cancellation: Longitudinal discourse analysis of future imaginaries in Dutch environmental futures reports","authors":"Wouter de Rijk, Joram Feitsma","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103691","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103691","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past five decades, environmental policymaking has been heavily concerned with developing anticipatory governance capacities and designing ‘future-proof’ institutions. The literature broadly indicates that the field of governmental futuring has evolved within the past decades from ‘forecasting to foresight’, allowing more room for openness and pluralism in futuring work. This sharply differs from the contemporary critical theory analysis of ‘future cancellation’, which claims that our contemporary moment has become incapable of envisioning alternative futures beyond the late capitalist status quo. In this study we seek to empirically explore future cancellation in the context of Dutch environmental governance, a field with a long tradition of institutionalized anticipatory capacities. We conducted a longitudinal discourse analysis of a total of 20 reports from two future-oriented scientific institutes within Dutch government, tracing historical shifts in dominant futuring methods and environmental future imaginaries, and the extent to which these open or instead close the collective views of the future. Our analysis shows that, following the future cancellation thesis, futuring methods and environmental future imaginaries have over time converged into a narrower imagination of the future. This is, however, far from a stable, linear and deterministic process – as the broad-brush thesis of future cancellation might suggest. Rather, we distinguish four distinct periods, characterized by historically contingent processes of future opening and cancellation. When studied in-depth and in historical context, future cancellation in environmental futures research appears of a more shifty nature, both related to futuring methods and the presence of dominant environmental future imaginaries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103691"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145020919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-17DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103697
Tiina Tuominen, Anu Seisto, Minna Halonen, Juuli Huuhanmäki, Sofi Kurki
The role and agency of citizens in future making are arousing increasing interest in futures studies. While research on future-oriented agency provides insights into how future-oriented, prospective attitude can be stimulated, researchers are still struggling to understand why such attitude does not lead to action. An aspect that deserves more attention in this research is how the relations between people shape attitudes and actions. Young people are an insightful group to investigate in this respect, as their agency and relations in the world are just forming. We draw on sociological theories to suggest that future-oriented agency comprises both future orientation (the motivational element of agency) and relational power (the social element of agency) that together shape future-oriented action. We then examine the role of social relations and positions in the development of agency and refine the conceptualisation of agency using essay data in which students, aged between 14 and 19 years, reflect on their agency in food system transition. The findings reveal five agency types, providing some evidence on how the students’ families, hobbies, and other relations shaped these types. We elaborate on the findings to suggest how to better support young people’s future-oriented agency through education. This way, the paper contributes to understanding the formation of future-oriented agency and the role of education in that process.
{"title":"From futures awareness to shaping the food system: Relational foundations of young people's future-oriented agency","authors":"Tiina Tuominen, Anu Seisto, Minna Halonen, Juuli Huuhanmäki, Sofi Kurki","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103697","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103697","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The role and agency of citizens in future making are arousing increasing interest in futures studies. While research on future-oriented agency provides insights into how future-oriented, prospective attitude can be stimulated, researchers are still struggling to understand why such attitude does not lead to action. An aspect that deserves more attention in this research is how the relations between people shape attitudes and actions. Young people are an insightful group to investigate in this respect, as their agency and relations in the world are just forming. We draw on sociological theories to suggest that future-oriented agency comprises both future orientation (the motivational element of agency) and relational power (the social element of agency) that together shape future-oriented action. We then examine the role of social relations and positions in the development of agency and refine the conceptualisation of agency using essay data in which students, aged between 14 and 19 years, reflect on their agency in food system transition. The findings reveal five agency types, providing some evidence on how the students’ families, hobbies, and other relations shaped these types. We elaborate on the findings to suggest how to better support young people’s future-oriented agency through education. This way, the paper contributes to understanding the formation of future-oriented agency and the role of education in that process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103697"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145107279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103693
Yiannis Laouris , Peter Tuddenham
This paper argues that the erosion of democratic governance is partly due to the neglect or violation of foundational principles from systems science and cybernetics. Concepts such as purpose, feedback, emergence, entropy, self-organization, adaptation, and learning are essential for governing complex (societal) systems but are often overlooked in institutional practice. Drawing on theory and international case studies, the authors show how these principles can inform more resilient, participatory, and adaptive approaches to governance. By applying these principles, this study contributes to anticipatory governance models that can inform more democratic, resilient, and participatory futures. The paper outlines recurring patterns of systemic failure and offers practical reflections for policymakers and institutional designers. It also calls on systems scientists and cyberneticians to engage more directly in educating and supporting those tasked with governing socio-technical systems. In doing so, it reframes systems-cybernetics not as abstract theory but as a necessary foundation for restoring legitimacy, adaptability, and integrity to democratic institutions.
{"title":"Revitalizing democracy through cybernetics and systems science: Principles and applications for effective governance","authors":"Yiannis Laouris , Peter Tuddenham","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103693","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103693","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper argues that the erosion of democratic governance is partly due to the neglect or violation of foundational principles from systems science and cybernetics. Concepts such as purpose, feedback, emergence, entropy, self-organization, adaptation, and learning are essential for governing complex (societal) systems but are often overlooked in institutional practice. Drawing on theory and international case studies, the authors show how these principles can inform more resilient, participatory, and adaptive approaches to governance. By applying these principles, this study contributes to anticipatory governance models that can inform more democratic, resilient, and participatory futures. The paper outlines recurring patterns of systemic failure and offers practical reflections for policymakers and institutional designers. It also calls on systems scientists and cyberneticians to engage more directly in educating and supporting those tasked with governing socio-technical systems. In doing so, it reframes systems-cybernetics not as abstract theory but as a necessary foundation for restoring legitimacy, adaptability, and integrity to democratic institutions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103693"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145119300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-07-29DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103673
Jason Jabbour , Nicolas A. Balcom Raleigh , Anne-Sophie Stevance , James Waddell , Andrea Hinwood
There is growing interest in developing foresight cultures within international organizations. This reflection on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) approach focuses on a critical 18-month chapter of an ongoing initiative called the Foresight Trajectory. It begins with the premise that organizations are complex adaptive systems, foresight is driven by its potential value, and anticipation is a social phenomenon. The paper proposes principles for cultivating a culture of organizational foresight based on a methodological reflection of the UNEP Foresight Trajectory. This process applied three sets of Reflection Questions across six project phases, generating key insights that inform principles for cultivating foresight within the organization. The questions addressed contexts, relevance perceptions, and modes of anticipation. Three main insights emerged: the foresight process was dynamic and adaptive; the process itself was meaningful to stakeholders as a driver of foresight culture formation; and UNEP, along with other international entities, is uniquely positioned to convene multi-perspective and global foresight processes. Based on these insights, seven Foresight Principles are proposed to guide UNEP and other international entities in engaging stakeholders in foresight to explore new ideas, prepare for uncertainty, build a foresight community, stay flexible and reflexive, communicate openly while respecting stakeholder needs, and foster diverse perspectives to spark immediate thinking and action. This reflection aims to contribute to the development of a foresight culture at UNEP and offer useful insights for other UN entities and beyond.
{"title":"Principles for building a culture of organizational foresight","authors":"Jason Jabbour , Nicolas A. Balcom Raleigh , Anne-Sophie Stevance , James Waddell , Andrea Hinwood","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103673","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103673","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is growing interest in developing foresight cultures within international organizations. This reflection on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) approach focuses on a critical 18-month chapter of an ongoing initiative called the Foresight Trajectory. It begins with the premise that organizations are complex adaptive systems, foresight is driven by its potential value, and anticipation is a social phenomenon. The paper proposes principles for cultivating a culture of organizational foresight based on a methodological reflection of the UNEP Foresight Trajectory. This process applied three sets of Reflection Questions across six project phases, generating key insights that inform principles for cultivating foresight within the organization. The questions addressed contexts, relevance perceptions, and modes of anticipation. Three main insights emerged: the foresight process was dynamic and adaptive; the process itself was meaningful to stakeholders as a driver of foresight culture formation; and UNEP, along with other international entities, is uniquely positioned to convene multi-perspective and global foresight processes. Based on these insights, seven Foresight Principles are proposed to guide UNEP and other international entities in engaging stakeholders in foresight to explore new ideas, prepare for uncertainty, build a foresight community, stay flexible and reflexive, communicate openly while respecting stakeholder needs, and foster diverse perspectives to spark immediate thinking and action. This reflection aims to contribute to the development of a foresight culture at UNEP and offer useful insights for other UN entities and beyond.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103673"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145020920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-18DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103696
Sofia Rafaella Greaves, Mario Pansera, Javier Lloveras
Post-normal science (PNS) provides an emerging framework for tackling complex, uncertain, and value-laden scientific challenges by integrating diverse stakeholders, multiple knowledge forms, and democratic procedures into scientific practice. Drawing from institutional theory, which illuminates the dynamics of organizational change and resistance, this paper examines the capacity of PNS-informed interventions to reshape dominant strategies for future making and thus institutional logics within scientific organizations. Our research is empirically grounded in an ethnographic study of the European Commission’s knowledge for policy service, the Joint Research Centre, focusing on the SciArt initiative which brings together artists and scientists to coproduce knowledge. We show how SciArt transforms future making by generating tangible and intangible changes to research perspectives and processes. PNS aligned changes included reflexivity, quality control, the recognition and communication of complexity, democratization of expertise, increased citizen participation, the de-stabilising of beliefs surrounding science, and art. We argue that the potential of such project outcomes to transform the practice of science and policymaking depends upon linked experimental spaces wherein these outcomes can be applied within speculative approaches. Else we argue that the potential for transforming dominant institutional logics remains limited due to "the enclosure of uncertainty": a drive within scientific institutions to reduce uncertainty for policy clarity in contrast to the increased uncertainty required and generated by art-science collaboration. Our study underscores the need for long-term, incremental adaptation in research and policymaking structures to integrate and institutionalize PNS practices, and thus SciArt.
{"title":"Practising post-normal science through art-science collaborations: Institutionalising new approaches to future-making at the Joint Research Centre","authors":"Sofia Rafaella Greaves, Mario Pansera, Javier Lloveras","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103696","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103696","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Post-normal science (PNS) provides an emerging framework for tackling complex, uncertain, and value-laden scientific challenges by integrating diverse stakeholders, multiple knowledge forms, and democratic procedures into scientific practice. Drawing from institutional theory, which illuminates the dynamics of organizational change and resistance, this paper examines the capacity of PNS-informed interventions to reshape dominant strategies for future making and thus institutional logics within scientific organizations. Our research is empirically grounded in an ethnographic study of the European Commission’s knowledge for policy service, the Joint Research Centre, focusing on the SciArt initiative which brings together artists and scientists to coproduce knowledge. We show how SciArt transforms future making by generating tangible and intangible changes to research perspectives and processes. PNS aligned changes included reflexivity, quality control, the recognition and communication of complexity, democratization of expertise, increased citizen participation, the de-stabilising of beliefs surrounding science, and art. We argue that the potential of such project outcomes to transform the practice of science and policymaking depends upon linked experimental spaces wherein these outcomes can be applied within speculative approaches. Else we argue that the potential for transforming dominant institutional logics remains limited due to \"the enclosure of uncertainty\": a drive within scientific institutions to reduce uncertainty for policy clarity in contrast to the increased uncertainty required and generated by art-science collaboration. Our study underscores the need for long-term, incremental adaptation in research and policymaking structures to integrate and institutionalize PNS practices, and thus SciArt.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103696"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-30DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103707
Kyungmoo Heo , Jonathan Joseph
This article examines anticipatory governance (AG) in South Korea and the UK, revealing contrasting approaches, shaped by unique historical, political, and social contexts. It explores the levels of trust, consensus, and empowerment and the dynamics of government, society, and citizens in both countries. First, Korea demonstrates proactive, future-oriented and anticipatory policymaking through strong government leadership, readiness for adaption, and the participation of and wellnurtured futures literacy of citizens. This is rooted in a tradition of development and the government’s consciousness of public reaction, trust and legitimacy. Second, while the UK embraces an AG approach such as horizon scanning and foresight, these efforts are hindered by short-term resilience thinking, an absence of education and awareness of the public, and fragmented implementation. In the UK’s AG, resilience becomes an excuse for incapacity in finding solutions to complex problems while shifting responsibility of a government to the public without adequate capacity-building. Instead of longer-term planning, AG is used to justify governance from a distance, the role of the market and the responsibilisation of individuals. Moreover, resilience becomes an excuse for incapacity to find solutions to complex problems while shifting responsibility from the government to the public without adequate capacity-building. From this perspective, the Korean approach would be criticised as rooted in an overly-modernist and state-interventionist strategy that still sees the government as the main actor in times of crisis. The article concludes with the traps and pitfalls of AG, constrained by relation-based dynamics, neoliberal ideologies, and a focus on resilience over longterm planning.
{"title":"The traps and pitfalls of anticipatory governance – Comparative cases of South Korea and the United Kingdom -","authors":"Kyungmoo Heo , Jonathan Joseph","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103707","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103707","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article examines anticipatory governance (AG) in South Korea and the UK, revealing contrasting approaches, shaped by unique historical, political, and social contexts. It explores the levels of trust, consensus, and empowerment and the dynamics of government, society, and citizens in both countries. First, Korea demonstrates proactive, future-oriented and anticipatory policymaking through strong government leadership, readiness for adaption, and the participation of and wellnurtured futures literacy of citizens. This is rooted in a tradition of development and the government’s consciousness of public reaction, trust and legitimacy. Second, while the UK embraces an AG approach such as horizon scanning and foresight, these efforts are hindered by short-term resilience thinking, an absence of education and awareness of the public, and fragmented implementation. In the UK’s AG, resilience becomes an excuse for incapacity in finding solutions to complex problems while shifting responsibility of a government to the public without adequate capacity-building. Instead of longer-term planning, AG is used to justify governance from a distance, the role of the market and the responsibilisation of individuals. Moreover, resilience becomes an excuse for incapacity to find solutions to complex problems while shifting responsibility from the government to the public without adequate capacity-building. From this perspective, the Korean approach would be criticised as rooted in an overly-modernist and state-interventionist strategy that still sees the government as the main actor in times of crisis. The article concludes with the traps and pitfalls of AG, constrained by relation-based dynamics, neoliberal ideologies, and a focus on resilience over longterm planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103707"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145221867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-23DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103703
Yuri Calleo, Francesco Pilla
This paper introduces the Real-Time AI Delphi (RT-AID), a novel methodology designed to enhance the traditional Real-Time Delphi method by integrating artificial intelligence models. The Delphi method, known for its structured approach to facilitating expert consensus or gathering relevant opinions on complex issues, has evolved over time but still faces challenges such as extended timeframes and expert dropout rates. RT-AID addresses these limitations by utilizing pre-trained generative transformers as a supporting agent, facilitating convergence of opinions and fostering real-time interaction among AI-generated perspectives. RT-AID is implemented through a web-based open system, with real-time analysis and statistical summaries allowing for efficient decision-making and futures exploration. The method is validated through a preliminary case study in the climate domain, with a 10-year time horizon for the city of Dublin. The results confirm that AI-supported expert opinions not only contribute interesting and valuable perspectives but also accelerate the convergence process when the experts’ sample is limited. This demonstrates the method’s ability to enhance both the collection and analysis of data while generating more diverse and creative scenarios for strategic decision-making. This innovation represents a significant advancement in futures studies, offering increased agility, improved scenario generation, and faster consensus-building through AI integration.
{"title":"Real-Time AI Delphi: A novel method for decision-making and foresight contexts","authors":"Yuri Calleo, Francesco Pilla","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103703","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103703","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper introduces the Real-Time AI Delphi (RT-AID), a novel methodology designed to enhance the traditional Real-Time Delphi method by integrating artificial intelligence models. The Delphi method, known for its structured approach to facilitating expert consensus or gathering relevant opinions on complex issues, has evolved over time but still faces challenges such as extended timeframes and expert dropout rates. RT-AID addresses these limitations by utilizing pre-trained generative transformers as a supporting agent, facilitating convergence of opinions and fostering real-time interaction among AI-generated perspectives. RT-AID is implemented through a web-based open system, with real-time analysis and statistical summaries allowing for efficient decision-making and futures exploration. The method is validated through a preliminary case study in the climate domain, with a 10-year time horizon for the city of Dublin. The results confirm that AI-supported expert opinions not only contribute interesting and valuable perspectives but also accelerate the convergence process when the experts’ sample is limited. This demonstrates the method’s ability to enhance both the collection and analysis of data while generating more diverse and creative scenarios for strategic decision-making. This innovation represents a significant advancement in futures studies, offering increased agility, improved scenario generation, and faster consensus-building through AI integration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103703"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145119299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-20DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103701
Emma Johansson , Lisette van Beek
Against the backdrop of the ecological crisis, food production systems will need to transform to ensure future food security. There are contrasting visions of what this transformation should look like. This paper scrutinizes these competing imaginaries of future agriculture and associated styles of anticipation in Tanzania. We find that both government visions and global crop models anticipate futures in line with agricultural modernization; a food system driven by productivity and efficiency that is associated with adverse socio-ecological challenges. In contrast, an alternative imaginary transpires through the lived experiences and aspirations of small-holder farmers; an agroecological food system characterized by soil health, food quality and solidarity that is more in line with sustainability and justice. This lived future is overwritten by government visions and global crop models, which render the agroecological future unimaginable by abstracting and emptying the future. Our findings highlight that transformative change may not only be hindered by a ‘lack of imagination’, but rather the politics of anticipation through which existing radical visions become foreclosed. We propose diverse ways in which researchers may empower radical imaginaries that already exist among marginalized communities, including what this might mean for the future use of crop models.
{"title":"How crop models and government visions foreclose imaginaries of agroecological futures","authors":"Emma Johansson , Lisette van Beek","doi":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103701","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.futures.2025.103701","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Against the backdrop of the ecological crisis, food production systems will need to transform to ensure future food security. There are contrasting visions of what this transformation should look like. This paper scrutinizes these competing imaginaries of future agriculture and associated styles of anticipation in Tanzania. We find that both government visions and global crop models anticipate futures in line with agricultural modernization; a food system driven by productivity and efficiency that is associated with adverse socio-ecological challenges. In contrast, an alternative imaginary transpires through the lived experiences and aspirations of small-holder farmers; an agroecological food system characterized by soil health, food quality and solidarity that is more in line with sustainability and justice. This lived future is overwritten by government visions and global crop models, which render the agroecological future unimaginable by abstracting and emptying the future. Our findings highlight that transformative change may not only be hindered by a ‘lack of imagination’, but rather the politics of anticipation through which existing radical visions become foreclosed. We propose diverse ways in which researchers may empower radical imaginaries that already exist among marginalized communities, including what this might mean for the future use of crop models.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48239,"journal":{"name":"Futures","volume":"174 ","pages":"Article 103701"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145119308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-24DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103695
Yannick Oswald
Prevailing top-down systems in politics and economics struggle to keep pace with the pressing challenges of the 21st century, such as climate change, social inequality and conflict. Bottom-up democratization and participatory approaches in politics and economics are increasingly seen as promising alternatives to confront and overcome these issues, often with ‘utopian’ overtones, as proponents believe they may dramatically reshape political, social and ecological futures for the better and in contrast to contemporary authoritarian tendencies across various countries. Institutional specifics and the associated collective human behavior or culture remains little understood and debated, however. In this article, I propose a novel research agenda focusing on ‘utopian’ democratization efforts with formal and computational methods as well as with artificial intelligence – I call this agenda ‘Artificial Utopia’. Artificial Utopias provide safe testing grounds for new political ideas and economic policies ‘in-silico’ with reduced risk of negative consequences as compared to testing ideas in real-world contexts. An increasing number of advanced simulation and intelligence methods, that aim at representing human cognition and collective decision-making in more realistic ways, could benefit this process. This includes agent-based modeling, reinforcement learning, large language models and more. I clarify what some of these simulation approaches can contribute to the study of Artificial Utopias with the help of two institutional examples; the citizen assembly and the democratic firm. Finally, I discuss open questions and future research directions related to the broader Artificial Utopia agenda.
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