field file · humanities & learning
Mixed
Future Studies
the future(s) imagined
Signal gathering and scenario drafting are exposed, while judgement about which futures to take seriously stays human.
Future studies builds and tests scenarios about where things could go, blending research, modelling and imagination. AI can gather signals, summarize trends and generate scenario drafts at speed. Choosing which futures matter, holding the long view and standing behind a forecast is the human part. The shape is mixed.
Tasks under pressure
// the work in this field that current AI does well
Safer ground: build these
// future skills that put someone in this field on firmer footing
Forecasting
exploring possible & desirable scenarios that lie ahead
Systems thinking
seeing patterns & creating models to handle complexity
Imagination
dreaming & seeing what could be
Interdisciplinary thinking
understanding how roles & disciplines intersect
Critical thinking
reasoning independently, informed by evidence
Complexity
handling complexity or distilling it into simplicity
Ask yourself
// prompts from the Professional Development deck, for your own situation
The evidence behind this
// the signals that back this field's story, with studies and counter-evidence
The forecasts disagree, and that is the point
Anyone giving you one confident number is selling something.
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Most real AI use augments, it does not replace
What people actually do with AI, measured, not predicted.
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New work appears where old tasks disappear
The jobs of 2040 are mostly not invented yet.
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