We've had too little to inspire us in 2025—too little to unite us. That's why we're creating a sanctuary for social imagination. This October, IFTF's Ten-Year Forecast opens up a limited number of seats, beyond our IFTF Vantage partners to welcome the wider IFTF community. For three days, we'll gather in an intimate space where AI meets human insight, where conversation sparks revelation, and where immersive experiences expand our collective vision.
Join us in Palo Alto on October 27-29, to challenge assumptions with leading edge thinkers, explore AI-augmented foresight tools, connect with bold futures thinkers, and transform chaos into possibility. Find more information to register here. IFTF Vantage Partners' seats are secured. Only a limited number of additional tickets are available.
AI's Silent Seat at the Table
Is AI already part of your inner circle? We explore this question in "What happens to human interaction when AI quietly joins the room?" Also in this issue, immersive future-dreaming in the Lumisphere, the UN court's revolutionary climate ruling, and our latest signals tracking everything from silent neural interfaces to Albania's AI minister. Plus: upcoming foresight training opportunities and new research on corporate futures.
Signals from the Future
As the boundaries of AI are being tested, these new signals from IFTF's Future Factors platform explore how some are attempting to use the technology for beneficial purposes.
Neural technology allows you to query AI without talking
The startup AlterEgo has developed a silent speech recognition system powered by neural interfaces that enables users to query AI without vocalizing. The technology interprets neural signals from the brain so that users can silently converse with AI.
What if our internal monologues and musings could be shared with a thinking partner?
Albania’s public procurement minister is an AI assistant
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama has appointed Diella, an AI-generated digital assistant, as the first virtual cabinet minister overseeing public procurement. This innovative move aims to eliminate corruption in public tenders by utilizing AI to assess contracts objectively, ensuring transparency in government spending.
What if we could trust that our government was making decisions totally free from bias and politics?
AI-generated podcasts pump out cheap content catered to online interests
Using AI-generated hosts, Inception Point AI launched 5,000 podcasts and produces 3,000 episodes each week. Each episode takes one hour to make and costs about $1, allowing the company to flood the audio storytelling world with cheap content that appeals to niche interests.
What if you could find a podcast just for you anytime you wanted it?
AI helps electric grids provide reliable energy
Tapestry's AI platform creates digital twins of electric grid infrastructure to optimize operations and planning. The company's simulation engine allows utilities to model grid behavior under various scenarios — from extreme weather to demand spikes — helping them better prepare for and respond to disruptions.
What if electricity flowed seamlessly and efficiently so that it made the most sense for people and the planet?
IFTF FEATURE:
Can Immersive Storytelling Rewire How We Imagine the Future?
How can immersive art spark urgent optimism about the future? On October 2, IFTF researchers Jane McGonigal and Jake Dunagan will unveil the Lumisphere Experience with Visions 2030. Moving through three connected domes, visitors are guided by voice and visual storytelling, encountering sweeping projections and calming soundscapes designed to open space for collective dreaming. In the final dome, participants use a tablet with prompts and AI tools to envision an eco-future inspired by their journey. Alongside the experience, IFTF researchers will study whether the Lumisphere boosts hope, agency, and readiness to face uncertain futures. Read more about the Lumisphere installation from Visions2030 and IFTF.
IFTF INSIGHT: The 3-Way Conversation You Don't Know You're Having
AI coaching tools are silently reshaping human interactions. IFTF research manager Nathalie Lopez discovered this firsthand when interviewing a participant who used AI assistance to craft responses in real-time. The findings highlight growing challenges for researchers and anyone relying on authentic human communication in an AI-mediated world. Read "What happens to human interaction when AI quietly joins the room?"
IFTF SERVICE SPOTLIGHT:
Climate Courts, AI Villages, and the End of Cravings: Q3's Game-Changing Signals
From autonomous AI communities making their own business decisions to court rulings that could trigger a surge of climate litigation, IFTF's Q3 2025 Quarterly Signals Memo highlights anomalies and disruptions from today that could fundamentally reshape tomorrow's landscape. Our analysis covers civic systems, surveillance technology, labor-capital tensions, and climate adaptation, helping Vantage partners identify crucial opportunities and risks before they become mainstream challenges. Each quarter, this exclusive memo provides partners early insights into the forces transforming their operating environment.
IFTF Vantage Partners can access the full Q3 Signals Memo here.
Contact Susanne Forchheimer to learn more about becoming an IFTF Vantage Partner.
Upcoming IFTF Foresight Essentials Trainings
IFTF Foresight Essentials Alexandria, VA
Oct 14 - 16, 2025. Register here »
IFTF Foresight Essentials Live-Online — ONLY 3 SEATS LEFT!
Oct 29 - Dec 10, 2025. Register here »
IFTF Foresight Awareness for Philanthropy Live-Online
Dec 1, 2025 at 11am-12:30pm PST. Register here »
IFTF Foresight Essentials Palo Alto, CA
Dec 9 - 11, 2025. Register here »
ALL UPCOMING TRAININGS & EVENTS »
IFTF Signal Swap: How to Discuss Signals
Strong foresight begins with tracking signals of change - and those signals become more valuable when explored together. Join us for a playful, 30-minute round of signal swapping, where three IFTF Foresight Essentials faculty members share provocative signals and explore their implications in real-time. You'll see first-hand how collaborative signal analysis reveals unexpected possibilities and deeper insights.
Thursday, November 6 | 9am Pacific Time Register here »
RESOURCES:
Why Top Companies Keep Getting Blindsided (And How to Fix It)
In a world of rapid change and growing complexity, businesses must adapt. Strategic foresight helps spot trends, question assumptions, and build resilience. The report “The State of Corporate Foresight: Global Study on the Application of Corporate Foresight” shares findings from a global study that analyzes corporate foresight practices based on surveys from over 400 senior executives at Forbes Global 2,000 firms. The research, carried out by the Bavarian Foresight Institute in collaboration with the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions during late 2022, captures how leading companies approach future planning during a crucial period of post-COVID strategic reassessment and realignment.