Future Today Institute

One of the absolute highlights of our work at Future Today Institute is sharing #strategicforesight with the next generation of leaders and learning from them in return. FTI is proud to have many NYU Stern School of Business alumni represented on our full-time staff as well as current students within our twice-yearly associate program. Thanks to NYU for highlighting our Founder & CEO, Professor Amy Webb! ??????

#Apple update: the tech giant is waging war against... lost luggage! ?? Apple has partnered with 15 airlines, including Delta and United, to introduce its latest #AirTag feature. With the new "Share Item Location" link, travelers can allow access to real-time tracking of their luggage with trusted parties. The feature is due to be released with December's iOS 18.2 update. For those of us focused on anticipating trends, this update is not just about convenience; it represents the maturation of #geospatial tech. We've been tracking this signal as far back as 2009, when Foursquare came on the scene?? Foursquare experienced a lot of hype among consumers, but the app itself wasn't what interested us – it was the underlying trend of #geotagging. Years later, with this latest development and others, we're seeing how such data is becoming indispensable across industries.

It’s the year 2044 when the intersection of #virtualreality and #blockchain brings about a new phenomenon… hauntings! ?? As real estate prices soar, a new question arises in the housing market: would you prefer a pre-haunted or haunt-free home? The blockchain records every occupant’s digital footprint, ensuring transparency in the spectral history of properties. New residents soon discover that they cannot entirely erase the digital echo of the previous owners, and ghosts of past lives linger in their VR experiences. For many, these hauntings manifest as eerie glitches or uninvited digital guests. A handful are of them welcome – think, Casper the Friendly Virtual Ghost. Others, not so much. Some residents embark on quests designed to rid their homes of the more malevolent digital spirits. In one such quest, they must enter a VR simulation of the previous owner’s life. They are tasked with navigating through memories to find a specific lost item that represents closure. Successfully retrieving the item can help release the lingering soul ??? The tasks are, unfortunately, a double-edged sword: they may unwittingly feed into the hands of those lurking in the shadows, bad actors who can exploit the data generated during these digital missions. As hauntings grow increasingly intrusive, residents may turn to a final solution: exorcism. To free themselves from the negative energy and harmful data that have latched onto their virtual personas, individuals may undergo an extensive cleansing process. Experts delve into the deep recesses of the now intertwined digital histories, extracting bad data and even AI-generated malware. Spooked yet? Us too! ?? Though the future might not turn out to be quite so eerie, this scenario is based on real technologies and our increasingly complex digital identities. Always remember to keep an eye on your data, and maybe check for any lingering digital ghosts! #HappyHalloween from Future Today Institute! ??

We're thrilled to see Future Today Institute and the International Interior Design Association recognized by Forbes for our groundbreaking partnership, the Certified Design Futurist (CDF) program! ?? As writer Jeffrey Steele aptly describes in his article, "Interior designers are among the professionals whose success rests on seeing into the future. That ability is needed to design spaces for their clients that work both aesthetically and functionally today and for years and perhaps decades to come." Mark Bryan, Senior Foresight Manager at FTI and IIDA’s Futurist-in-Residence, will lead the first-of-its-kind course, which is anticipated to launch in 2025. CDF participants will emerge with both a credential and the tools to anticipate – and respond to – what's next ???? FTI is proud to help build a forward-thinking future for the interior design industry. As our friend Cheryl Durst, Hon. FIIDA, puts it: "This kind of training will be a designer’s secret weapon."

?? Cybersecurity watch: the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has reported that, earlier this year, hackers took control of multiple Ecovacs Deebot X2 robot vacuums across the United States. Hackers were able to bypass the four-digit PIN to access the robot's video feed, remote control feature and speaker system. They then used this access to hurl profanity and racial slurs at the unuspecting product owners. Think about all of the smart technology in your home. It's not just Alexa or Siri or Google Assistant anymore. It's smart televisions, thermostats, lights, appliances, doorbells and so much more. These devices have access to our most personal spaces, collecting data and, in some cases, even watching or listening to us ?? The implications of these hacks go beyond just immediate privacy invasions. If a simple vacuum can be turned into a vehicle for harassment, what happens when bad actors target more critical systems? The trade-off between convenience and security is becoming increasingly clear – smart technology requires smarter security. #Cybersecurity #Smartdevices #Dataprivacy

It’s time for another Foresight FAQ! On today's docket: what’s the point of trend reports? Look, trend reports are like movie recommendations ??They make you aware of emerging technologies and forces of change – just like hearing about a great film clues you into its existence. But here’s the thing: if you don’t actually watch "The Godfather," what purpose does the recommendation serve? Sure, it might help you answer a Jeopardy question, but it won’t really enrich your life. The same goes for trend reports. Simply reading them isn’t enough. You have to engage with the insights, integrating them into your strategy and making decisions based on the findings. That’s how a trend report goes from being a collection of interesting ideas to something that truly shapes your company's future ?? There's another key point: trends don’t exist in isolation. They show us what we can know about the future, but they don’t account for all the things we don't yet know – the uncertainties. If we rely solely on trends, we’re only getting half the picture. So, what’s the point of trend reports? They're to help your company identify the forces shaping the future and empower you to act on them, so you can successfully navigate change. #StrategicForesight #TrendReport #Trends #Uncertainties

This weekend a few of our Future Today Institute employees stumbled out of Manhattan and into... Wonderland? That is, we visited the New York Botanical Garden to check out "Homegrown Wonderland" – a mycelium-based pavilion ?? At FTI, we are always exploring how innovations in materials and design can reshape the spaces we live in. This structure uses #mycelium bricks, developed from the root structure of mushrooms, as a key building material. The #biomaterials company behind the bricks, Ecovative - the mycelium technology company, is also using mycelium to create food, textiles and packaging. An example of circular design, the bricks from the Botanical Garden's Homegrown Wonderland will eventually be composted and the timber reused – hinting at a future where buildings grow, adapt and return to the Earth ??

Check it out: Future Today Institute Founder & CEO Amy Webb delivered a keynote speech at last month's United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit ?? Her message? As technology continues to evolve, we must use #strategicforesight to align on shared goals for a sustainable future.

The Future Today Institute team is hard at work on our 2025 Tech Trends Report, building on the insights from the 2024 edition! This past year's theme, the technology #supercycle, explored how the intersection of #AI, #biotechnology and #connectables is reshaping the fabric of our world. The supercycle – traditionally, a sustained period of booming demand that drives structural economic changes – will touch every aspect of society. The 2024 report covered 16 industries and technologies, from financial services and insurance to #Web3. If you haven't checked it out yet, now’s the perfect time to dive in before the next wave of trends arrives! ??

??? In discussions about #climatechange, we often focus on the immediate effects like rising temperatures and increased droughts. But as the article below highlights, we need to look beyond the surface and consider the next-order impacts. Case in point: #Switzerland and #Italy are redrawing borders due to melting glaciers. This time, it’s a peaceful agreement – but what happens in the future? As once-uninhabitable land becomes accessible, could we see tensions rise over territorial claims? Could conflicts emerge over newly valuable resources? ?? When something like climate change stands to reshape our global landscape, #strategicforesight allows us to consider and act on plausible outcomes.