When change moves faster than technology, human imagination becomes the most radical tool. This October, IFTF's Annual Ten-Year Forecast Summit will create a vital sanctuary for human imagination. For three days in Palo Alto, we are gathering our community of experts to explore what happens when society's operating systems—money, knowledge, climate, education, even reproduction—start to become unrecognizable. We'll investigate topics such as tech as religion, public AI, and life beyond the 1.5°C threshold. Through deep collaboration, participants will imagine and shape futures beyond conventional horizons. We invite you to join us, see more below.
Also in this issue: AI tools reshaping social connections, robotic wildlife conservation in Tibet, and the UAE's free AI initiative. Plus: Explore our Uncanny Valley Anthology and discover why the new book Navigating the Age of Chaos is an essential guide for these extraordinary times.
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.
ChatGPT’s study mode encourages interactive learning for students
OpenAI has introduced a new study mode for ChatGPT, which encourages interactive learning through prompts, quizzes, and Socratic questioning, rather than simply providing easy answers. Developed in collaboration with teachers and pedagogy experts, this mode aims to encourage active engagement and enhance comprehension as AI becomes an increasingly integral part of classrooms.
What if AI pushed our brains to think in new ways?
The UAE offers a freely accessible AI tool
The UAE is providing its advanced Falcon AI tool for free, offering a powerful alternative to costly proprietary systems built in the U.S. and China. Moreover, the open-source technology enables users to adapt it to local needs and languages, thereby reducing technological barriers in developing regions across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
What if AI were a publicly available resource, freely accessible to all?
AI tools are being used to build healthier relationships and social interactions
We are increasingly relying on AI tools to perform sentiment analysis, manage emotional interactions, and improve inter-personal communication. The ToneMeter feature on OurFamilyWizard helps divorced couples arrange their co-parenting interactions amicably, alleviating a significant burden on family court systems. The TIES Lab at Florida International University is developing an AI tool that collects data, such as heart rate, tone of voice, and language, to create a model that can effectively predict behavior in couples and families. This model will then intervene to prevent fights or nudge users toward more positive communication.
What if AI guided people toward peaceful language, behaviors, and thoughts?
China uses AI-driven robot to infiltrate antelope herd
Chinese scientists have created an AI-powered robotic antelope to track wildlife migration in Tibet's harsh highlands — a place too extreme for humans. The robot can observe and collect data on animal behavior without disturbing their natural habitats or raising suspicion. It utilizes advanced sensors and machine learning algorithms to track movements and interactions within the ecosystem, providing valuable insights for conservationists aiming to understand and protect vulnerable species more effectively.
What if AI helped us see and understand our living ecosystems in new ways?
IFTF FEATURE
IFTF's Ten-Year Forecast in October 2025— "A Sanctuary for Social Imagination"
"We need sanctuaries for social imagination now more than ever," wrote Alvin Toffler in Future Shock. When ten years of change can unfold in months, where do we find space to dream bigger? IFTF's Ten-Year Forecast (October 27-29, Palo Alto) is creating that sanctuary, bringing together visionaries like Jane McGonigal, Douglas Rushkoff, Wendy McMahon, and Maisha Winn to explore radical transformations in how we make babies, money, truth, and meaning. Through in-person, AI-augmented foresight exercises and deep collaboration, participants will shape audacious futures beyond today's horizons. If you are an IFTF Vantage Partner, you will have received information about how to register for this event. If you are interested in attending, please contact Cindy Baskin for more information.
IFTF INSIGHT
When the World Stops Making Sense, Read This
Remember when the future felt merely "uncertain"? Welcome to BANI — where reality is Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible. In their new book "Navigating the Age of Chaos," IFTF Distinguished Fellows Bob Johansen and Jamais Cascio, along with United Way Worldwide CEO Angela Williams, don't just describe our dizzying new world — they offer a future-proofing framework. Their BANI+ framework (Bendable, Attentive, Neuroflexible, Interconnected) transforms overwhelm into opportunity. For leaders drowning in disruption, this isn't just another business book — it's your survival guide to a future that's already here.
Read more about "Navigating the Age of Chaos" here.
IFTF SERVICE SPOTLIGHT
Strange New Worlds: IFTF's Uncanny Valley Forecast Anthology
Signals are pointing to a future where everything works as intended — and it still feels wrong. Where every step forward feels like two steps sideways. Where AI makes your job feel obsolete, climate solutions seem stranger than the crisis, and digital connections leave you more isolated than ever.
This is the Uncanny Valley — a disorienting landscape where progress itself feels alien, and it may be closer than you think.
IFTF's new Uncanny Valley Anthology doesn't just describe this future — it equips you to get through to the other side. Our 2024-2035 Forecast Perspectives offer strategic insights for leaders seeking to reimagine what's possible when familiar systems become unrecognizable.
IFTF Vantage Partners can access the complete anthology through IFTF Vantage Point. For the wider IFTF Community, we're sharing summary insights of each perspective:
- AI: A Visit to the Fast Food Drive-Through of 2035
- Work: When Freedom Feels Like a Trap
- Governance: When Participation Breeds Powerlessness
- Human Connection: When Digital Networks Breed Loneliness
- Climate Resilience: When Solutions Feel Stranger Than the Crisis
- Leadership: When AI Makes Management More Human
- Growing Up: When Traditional Milestones Meet New Realities
Are you ready to cross the valley? Dive into these thought-provoking forecasts to prepare your organization for an uncanny future.
Upcoming IFTF Foresight Essentials Trainings
IFTF Foresight Awareness for Philanthropy in 90 Minutes Live-Online
Sep 8, 2025
IFTF Foresight Essentials Washington, D.C.
Oct 14 - 16, 2025
IFTF Foresight Essentials Live-Online
Oct 29 - Dec 10, 2025
IFTF Foresight Essentials Palo Alto, CA
Dec 9 - 11, 2025
ALL UPCOMING TRAININGS & EVENTS »
Storytime for Futurists
Stories aren’t just for kids — they expand minds and spark emotions. Join us for an hour of future-focused tales! Dr. Jane McGonigal, NY Times bestselling author and IFTF’s Director of Game Research, will lead this live online event. She and other IFTF staff will read from books and stories that fuel creative thinking about the future. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, science, classics, or the latest releases — you never know what’s in store at Storytime for Futurists.
Gather ’round the virtual campfire—don’t miss out!
Thursday, September 18 | 10:00am PDT Register here »
RESOURCES Designing a Resilient and Relevant U.S. Learning System
The next decade will reshape U.S. education as old beliefs crumble. KnowledgeWorks’ latest forecast, Charting a New Course for Education, examines the forces K-12 schools must face and offers ideas to reimagine learning. The report tackles major disruptions—like AI, weakened public institutions, and education’s fading role in youth lives—while posing bold "what if?" scenarios. It outlines six strategies to guide the future. Katherine Prince, Vice President of Foresight and Strategy at KnowledgeWorks, describes the forecast as a call for education leaders and innovators to protect learning as a public good and create systems that are resilient, meaningful, and grounded in humanity for the decade ahead.