Worldbuilding Isn’t Just for Gamers and Futurists

I was lucky enough to take part recently in a worldbuilding cohort hosted by the Foresight Institute. Over eight weeks, we built our visions of a hopeful world using their rigorous process. It was a ton of work. It was also deeply enlightening. Participants hailed from countries across the globe and almost none of them identified as gamers or futurists. There were business consultants, policy leaders, scientists, activists and artists. Was it useful? I can’t begin to explain how much it challenged and expanded my thinking about the different dimensions and drivers of technology, economics, culture and sustainability. The experience forced us to knit together the interplay of the dominant systems in any society—it’s more challenging than it sounds! We did tons of research, examined different models, philosophies and ethical frameworks. We red-teamed each other, drafted narratives to summarize key systems and developed creative pieces as a “day in the life” in our worlds. We created the worlds we would want to live in, and we had to share how we got there. So, if we want to build the world we envisioned, we can because we already wrote the blueprint. And you can, too.

Who else needs worldbuilding? For sure, military and defense organizations will find the effort worthwhile. But any organization that wants to design a desired but probable and possible future will find the experience transformational.

Our world embraced AI and materials science to accelerate nuclear fusion implantation. With cheap, abundant and clean energy expanding rapidly around the globe, our 2045 saw carbon levels dip dramatically. Collaboration among local, national and global groups and organizations caused a significant decline in political polarization and populism. With AI underpinning most industries in our 2045, most people spent more time helping in their communities and connecting with family. A population decline meant more need for AI, especially in science and technology.

https://www.existentialhope.com/worlds/harmony-nexus#Core

Other teams went in different but equally compelling directions

https://www.existentialhope.com/existential-hope-worldbuilding