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Every four years, the U.S. National Intelligence Council publishes its Global Trends Report for the incoming or returning U.S. President. It is also released publicly as a tool for policymakers, [...]

Cybersecurity is perhaps the most difficult intellectual profession on the planet. The technical basis for that which needs security changes rapidly; and we have sentient opponents. We have no real [...]

INTRODUCTION Tomorrow's computers will know exactly what you mean, and they'll be able to tell when you're lying. They'll take over many jobs, but accelerate economic growth to such an [...]

Who are futurists, what do they do, and for whom do they work? Self-reflection among futurists (or 'foresight professionals') was at the top of the agenda for the more than [...]

The future of libraries appears bleak, from many perspectives: Demographically, credentialed librarians are aging; technologically, the information explosion has led to the cybrary, or e-library. The age-old tradition of the [...]

Artificial intelligence is becoming a disruptive force in growing numbers of knowledge-age professions--and futurism is not immune. Whether machines are able to conduct useful analysis and forecasts --i.e., whether the [...]

Where will work be in the future? And where will workers be? The economic, social, and technological landscape is shifting rapidly. Here are some of the major trends altering the [...]

Why just talk about the future when you could visit it instead? At Toronto's OCAD University (formerly the Ontario College of Art and Design), the most effective way I have [...]

* The American School of Asuncion, Paraguay, created 'Project 2023' to help students explore educational and career goals. The school uses foresight in twelfth-grade comparative government classes and has started [...]

Pakistan may be viewed as a case study of the fight for the survival of modern human civilization. Its complex and dangerous problems are not without possible solutions, and the [...]

Humanity is making momentous strides forward in health, literacy, and many other critical areas, but also stalling or moving backward on many others, warns The Millennium Project in its latest [...]

It's no secret that NASA aspires to fly humans to Mars. But many of the world's other space agencies--and a growing chorus of astronomers--call for establishing a permanent presence on [...]

Threats to forests range from mega-fires to urban encroachment. Two futurists for the U.S. National Forest Service provide insights on the major issues and potential game changers for the world's [...]

Whether it's 'rocket mail' or self-driving cars, predictions about the future need to be built on a deep understanding of context and consequences in order to inspire confidence. A business [...]

Religious imagination first reframed our quest toward tomorrow. Can it still move us in the twenty-first century to recreate our worlds? IT IS THE YEAR 2149. Overpopulation and pollution have [...]

From printable foods to rights for robots, science fiction and science fact are becoming harder to distinguish. Both begin with pictures in the mind's eye. What if visualization, imagination, and [...]

Capturing inspiration from 'what if,' an artist turned his imagination into a lifetime of serious futuring. Here's how he does it. I have trained myself to be a lateral thinker, [...]

Pet owners everywhere would like for their companion animals to live longer, and veterinary medicine is finally making that possible. Emerging developments in gene therapy, cancer treatments, surgery, and nutrition [...]

The quality of our future will depend on the direction society takes regarding complex issues such as health care, sustainability, the economy, and national security. Successful resolutions to these complex [...]

A psychologist examines several technological developments affecting sex, assessing their potential to deliver safe, affordable, and fulfilling experiences, as well as the economic, social, and legal questions that they raise. [...]

Labs on chips and low-cost genetic sequencing could vastly improve medicine in the coming decade, if we allow it. An expert in technology, science, and law argues that the next [...]

Doctors and patients alike are navigating wave after wave of new technologies that promise to alter how we manage our health. Digital technologies also offer opportunities for doctors and patients [...]

There are around 7,000 languages in the world. Some experts say the number is larger; others, lower. All languages are being challenged by modernization and globalization such that their futures [...]

If current trends continue, we'll be dealing with three times as much waste by the end of this century as we are now, warns the World Bank. One solution is [...]

when revolutionary euphoria sets in, we may be tempted to set aside our critical judgments and enroll ourselves in the dream. Only later, after experience, might we get a more [...]

As dusk descends on the Kruger National Park in South Africa, a family of black rhinos move quietly away from the water hole toward a resting place in the bush. [...]

he end of Moore's law ... bad news for allergy sufferers ... good news for secular humanists ... and everything in the world will talk to everything else. These are [...]

It has long been a cliche that evolving technologies drive social change. In part, this process is energized by expanded capabilities for responding to a perceived problem or need. But [...]

What might a world full of robots as smart as humans look like? Experts in robotics and artificial intelligence have given a lot of thought to if and when such [...]

Water has immense spiritual importance to Muslims; it is a symbol of purity and cleanliness. The progressive ideals of Islam may therefore offer alternative solutions for future water resource management. [...]

Thinkers and innovators from across the globe presented their best guesses about what the future holds for humanity at the World Future Society's annual meeting. 'WorldFuture 2013: Exploring the Next [...]

Industries and job sectors keep rapidly changing. Too many regional education-to-employment systems are out-of-date, according to work-force/career researcher Ed Gordon. For the past several decades, he has followed these trends [...]

On July 18, 2013, the city of Detroit was officially declared to be in a state of bankruptcy, with debts totaling more than $18 billion. The crisis had been many [...]

On October 11, 2012, on board the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, then--Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned Americans that the nation faces the prospect of a 'cyber Pearl Harbor'--an attack [...]

Whether it's biological cells, electronic systems, or communities of people, networks increase in value as the number of nodes and connections grow. As Metcalfe's law suggests, increased connectedness can lead [...]

People's trust in government, major businesses, organized religion, and other traditional institutions is at a historic low, but there is a silver lining: We are placing more and more trust [...]

Eleven years ago, as an eighth grader from a school in Alexander, North Dakota, with fewer than 100 students, I won best project for my division of the State Science [...]

Introduction One of my family's legends (unverified) was that my great-grandfather invented the coin-operated newspaper-vending machine. He never patented it, however, so watching the gradual disappearance of this sturdy, useful [...]

Halting deforestation will require the cooperation and coordination of the world's governments, businesses, and civil society. Networks of activists are now slowing the destruction of forest areas, promoting sustainable farming [...]

The father of the concept of 'nanotechnology' shows how the goals of atomically precise manufacturing got sidetracked and where its future really is. With technologies enabling us to make things [...]

The Project on Forward Engagement offers a three-part strategy for enabling policy makers to cope with accelerating change and complex challenges. Rather than relying on crisis management, anticipatory governance creates [...]

The most enduring legacy of the Brundtland Commission (1983-1987) has been a simple definition of sustainable development: 'Ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability [...]

The use of aerial drones by military forces and some civilian governments has attracted considerable public attention--and controversy--in the last few years. Drones are, however, only one of a number [...]

Imagine yourself discovering another Earth. Or identifying an unknown underwater species. Helping the blind to see. Finding a cure for cancer. Proving the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent life. Such visions [...]

The setting is central California's Yosemite National Park. A hiker, let's call him Steve Clark, has gone missing on one of the trails. As the head park ranger, your job [...]

We tell stories. Man versus man, man versus nature, man versus himself. Falling in love, fighting demons, and overcoming obstacles. It is said that to tell stories is what makes [...]

Elections free of violence--this seemed out of reach to many Kenyans in 2008. The losing parties in that year's elections instigated gangs of unemployed youth to go on looting and [...]

Women represent just under half the global population and are the fastest-growing group of consumers worldwide. Yet, analyses of their role in society are often one-dimensional and linear. Usually, the [...]

Get ready for the next great occupational downsizing. The world is preparing to minimize the need for humans to perform 'knowledge work' as well as simpler forms of service work. [...]

In the next forty years, the world will be transformed by demographics. By 2050, the ratio of working-age people to retirees in Europe, much of Asia, and the United States [...]