Official future

The Official Future Is Dead! Long Live the Official Future! by Nils Gilman

For any human group, be it a family, a corporation, or country, there exists a set of (usually unstated) shared assumptions about what is going to happen in the future.

Although they are closely related, I wouldn’t call these assumptions official futures but Future Imaginaries. The difference is that for me, an official future is usually stated. Like when an automotive company proposes a timeline and a [[ flatpack future ]] vision video for autonomous vehicles. It might not be what people and management at the company believe. Still, it is what they are willing to put on record to please shareholders, customers, and the public or to influence public expectations in their favor.

An unwillingness to challenge the assumptions of the Official Future can lead to strategic blindnesses.

The problems begin when the lines between the official future and the assumed future start to blur, and one is mistaken for the other.

Notes mentioning this note

Official future
The Official Future Is Dead! Long Live the Official Future! by Nils Gilman
Overton Window
The Official Future Is Dead! Long Live the Official Future! by Nils Gilman

Here are all the notes in this garden, along with their links, visualized as a graph.

AI and science fictionAI, future imaginaries, and futures studiesArtificial IntelligenceAnti DystopiaApproachDr. Armin GrunwaldArticle - Future FailArticle – Future of Terranascient Futures Studies...Article - Futures from RuinsArticles on FuturesArtifical general intelligence (agi)Artificial Intelligence and future imaginariesArticle – Beyond Capitalist RealismThe Blue Ant TrilogyBooks on FuturesCla gameCharacteristics of Future ImaginariesCollective MemoryCommon SenseComparable and related approachesComparison of national AI strategiesComponents of Future ImaginariesConceptual challenges and inconsistenciesConclusionCondensation of Future ImaginariesCritical Futures StudiesCyberpunkDates and eventsDifferentiation from similar termsDigital GardenEarly Approaches to ImaginariesEffect of performativity on future imaginariesFictional Expectations from BeckertFred PolakPaper – From Critique to Cultural RecoveryFuture Imaginaries from CookFuture Imaginaries from Goode and GodheFuture ScenarioFutures StudiesFutures terminologyFuturesGlobal business networkGoalsImages of the Future from InayatullahImaginaries from Lockton and CandyImaginaries from an anthropological perspectiveImaginariesInteresting Questions in Futures Studies &...IntroductionIntroductions to Futures Thinking & ForesightKey questions in critical futures studiesLeitbildLiterature on Critical Futures StudiesLongtermismMaster's Thesis – Future ImaginariesMeaning-Making and AIMegatrendsMetaphorMethodsMinimum group size for (future) imaginariesMythNele fischer on critical futures studiesNo future is neutralNo such thing as “future-proof”Observations from the examination of futures and...Official futureOutlook – Application of future imaginariesOverton WindowPattern recognitionPresent futures from GrunwaldPull of the FutureQuestions for the Start of a Foresight ProjectRationalistsResearch QuestionsRoles of Future ImaginariesSarkar gameSituating the ResearcherSocial ImaginariesSociotechnical Imaginaries from JasanoffSohail InayatullahTescrealThe Difference between Present Futures and Future...Book – The Image of the FutureThe JackpotThe network stateThe Role of Futures in CapitalismThe distinction between imaginaries and future...The vagueness of future imaginariesThinkers on futuresTools for the examination of future imaginariesTowards a definition of Future ImaginariesTraining Practice for FuturistsSorry, but this is not a trend reportVerge frameworkVisionWhat good is scientific rigor when nobody gives a...William GibsonMethod: WindtunnelingWorldbuildingCritical FuturesFuture Imaginaries