Futures/Foresight

Futurists - A technology and innovation showcase for futurists, presented by the World Future Society and 1X57.

World Foresight Forum - WFF (World Foresight Forum)is a global initiative that strives for a secure and sustainable world for future generations. Such a world must be built upon safety, security and justice for the many.

Future of Humanity Institute - The Future of Humanity Institute is a multidisciplinary research institute at the University of Oxford. It enables a select set of leading intellects seek to bring careful thinking to bear on big-picture questions about humanity and its prospects. The Institute belongs to the Faculty of Philosophy and the Oxford Martin School. The Institute’s work focuses on how future technology might affect the human condition, and on the risks and opportunities involved. It also focuses on the epistemic, moral, and prioritization issues that confront actors who pursue long-range or global objectives.

Futures: AllTop

Stratfor - A comprehensive site for geo-political intelligence and analysis.

Earth Institute - The Earth Institute’s overarching goal is to help achieve sustainable development primarily by expanding the world’s understanding of Earth as one integrated system. We work toward this goal through scientific research, education and the practical application of research for solving real-world challenges. With 850 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, staff and students working in and across more than 30 Columbia University research centers, the Earth Institute is helping to advance nine interconnected global issues: climate and society, water, energy, poverty, ecosystems, public health, food and nutrition, hazards and urbanization. With Columbia University as its foundation, the Earth Institute draws upon the scientific rigor, technological innovation and academic leadership for which the University is known. The Earth Institute encompasses centers of excellence with an established reputation for groundbreaking research, including the renowned Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, home to some of the world’s leading scientists pursuing the study of Earth and its systems. The Earth Institute is implementing solutions to global challenges; pioneering research; advising national governments, the United Nations and other international agencies; and educating the next generation of leaders in sustainable development. While Earth is indeed at a critical crossroads, our work reflects the fundamental belief that the world has within its possession the tools needed to effectively mitigate climate change, poverty and other critical issues.

Tellus Institute - At this perilous juncture in human affairs, Tellus Institute works to advance a global civilization of sustainability, equity and well-being through research, education, and action. We are at the cusp of a new historical epoch – the planetary phase of civilization – that binds the world's people and the biosphere into a single community of fate. But what form of global civilization will emerge in the coming decades? In the face of unfolding crises – cultural antagonism, violent conflict, economic volatility, environmental degradation – pessimists may be forgiven for their dark forebodings and dreamers for their doubts. Or is another world possible? We live in a challenging era, a time when a culture of greed and mania for growth undermines human amity and degrades the planet. Yet, we still have time and world enough to shape an alternative future where the health of the environment, the breadth of human solidarity, and the quality of lives become the legitimate measures of development and true wealth. The key to such a Great Transition is the capacity and willingness of the world’s citizens to gain new insights, embrace new values, and take common actions. Tellus is an independent voice for advancing these goals. Rooted in analytic rigor, the Institute’s projects offer visions of hope and strategies for change. Now, more than ever, we are committed to researching critical problems, developing scenarios of the future from the local to the global, and mobilizing networks for a Great Transition.

Global Senario Group - The Global Scenario Group was convened in 1995 by the Tellus Institute and Stockholm Environment Institute to engage a distinguished and diverse international group in an examination of the prospects for world development in the twenty-first century. In the years since, numerous global, regional, and national studies have relied on the GSG’s scenario framework and quantitative analysis. The Global Scenario Group synthesized its findings for a non-technical audience in: Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of the Times. The essay describes the historic roots, current dynamics, future perils, and alternative pathways for world development. It advances a Great Transition as the preferred route, identifying strategies, change agents, and values shifts for a new global agenda.

Foresight Project - Foresight is a international programme of investigation and debate structured around the challenge of forging common futures in a multi-polar world. The last decade has seen a major shift in the distribution of power away from the OECD towards other regions of the world. Foresight aims to ensure a smooth transition by encouraging better multilateral understanding and promoting a fairer and more functional international order.

Foresight Institute - Founded in 1986, Foresight was the first organization to educate society about the benefits and risks of nanotechnology. At that time, nanotechnology was a little-known concept. Today, nanotechnology research is widespread, and scientific knowledge of the molecular world is advancing rapidly. Enabling technologies ranging from MEMS and NEMS to molecular biology are developing at a steady pace. At the same time, other technologies with a potential for major transformative effects are beginning to show accelerating feedback interactions with nanotech. A prominent example is artificial intelligence, which is being informed by knowledge from neuroscience gained by increasingly fine-grained measuring and sensing capabilities. AI, along with computer modeling in general, will greatly accelerate the development of nanotech -- indeed, molecular experiments are already being planned, executed, and interpreted by machine. These converging technological capabilities bid fair to change the world in radical ways in the coming decades -- radical, but not unforseeable. Foresight sees its charter and tradition as using all the intellectual tools available, from history to computer modeling, to help understand changing parameters these new technologies will provide to the human condition. Foresight is a member-supported organization. Our membership, including over 14,000 individuals and a growing number of corporations, is diverse demographically and geographically. They are interested in ensuring that the future of nanotechnology unfolds for the benefit of all. These concerned individuals include scientists, engineers, business people, investors, publishers, artists, ethicists, policy makers, interested laypersons, and students from grammar school to graduate level.

World Futures Studies Federation - The World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF) is a global NGO that was founded in the 1960s to encourage and promote the development of futures studies as a transdisciplinary academic and professional field in all parts of the world. WFSF operates as a global network of practicing futurists - researchers, teachers, scholars, policy analysts, activists and others from approximately 60 countries.

World Future Society - The World Future Society is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., founded in 1966. The Society investigates how social, economic and technological developments are shaping the future. It helps individuals, organizations, and communities observe, understand and respond to social change appropriately and investigates the benign effects of applying anticipatory thinking to society. We have partners around the globe.