How To Future Proof Everything: Part II

Do you love The Fence? If you literally don't have a clue, click<<< and enjoy this GOAT of a piece about Madfest. Oh lordy. I want to tell you why I think we'll lean into AI more, because intelligence is dead, like Cock Robin and no one is entirely sure who is in the study with the rope.

In the article, Clive Martin talks about how it is at events like Madfest: a certain irony fills the air along with the smell of energy drinks and the hum of corporate slogans: brands and influencers, in their attempt to "future proof" the consumer, have managed to kill the very thing that would empower us to make informed choices. In the ever-more-elaborate play for authenticity, influencer marketing has become a factory of hyper-curated moments designed to make us feel prepared, connected, and included—while quietly nudging us away from intelligent choice and genuine agency.

The Illusion of Futureproofing: How Influencer Marketing Defines “Real”

Brands and influencers at these festivals are positioning themselves as our guides to the future. By aligning with wellness, mental health, and inclusivity, they claim to help us shape a future-ready self. But there’s a hollow truth to this mission. TOWIE's (yes, TOWIE's) Ferne McCann leads a room of executives through breathwork sessions, and panels tout slogans like "fortune favors the bold," what emerges is a thin veneer of authenticity that plays more to corporate branding than to individual empowerment.

The term "future proof" implies stability and resilience through tested environments usually in tech, yet in influencer marketing, it’s become a tool for homogeny and that's a bit unstable because not all actors, models or faces know business outside of the business of their face hands or body. Brands aren’t just promoting products; they’re selling identities and values pre-packaged for us to adopt. In this light, "future proofing the consumer" is more about embedding consumers in cycles of dependency on brands for guidance on what’s relevant, real, or relatable. True intelligent choice, where consumers actively select values and products that resonate with them, is vanishing under this branded uniformity. I know what you're thinking: she's being Glibby McGlibface. Suck it up.

The Rise of Tech Capitalism: Duplicity in the “Future-Ready” Promise

In influencer marketing, tech capitalism finds new ground, amplifying the idea that consumers need brands to future proof them. Digital platforms create personas, pre-loaded with curated values and experiences, that consumers are encouraged to identify with. This approach is less about making people genuinely "future-ready" and more about tethering them to an ongoing relationship with brands, apps, and influencers who “know best” what tomorrow should look like.

The performative gestures towards inclusivity and realness on your Tik Toks, your Instas etc are making data, that's all. These events like Madfest are a perfect example of tech capitalism’s duplicity. Under the guise of preparing consumers for the future, these brands create an environment where all choice appears to be tailored but is subtly homogenized and collected like sh*t flies in a jar - why would anyone catch sh*t flies and bottle them? Anyway, the curated personas reflect idealised, often sanitised, versions of reality—leaving consumers to navigate a narrow spectrum of "authentic" choices that are anything but. It’s a sleight of hand where freedom becomes prescribed, individuality scripted.

Are We Future Proofing or Just Killing Our Own Story?

In this influencer-led world, the narrative we build for ourselves is gradually being outsourced to brands. The consumer’s role shifts from active participant to passive recipient, and the “future-ready” life becomes a branded blueprint. We are encouraged to perform our identity—to be bold, to be unique—yet within the confines of a prescribed, marketable package. The idea of future proofing the consumer has been redefined as a process of molding consumers to fit a vision that prioritizes the brand’s relevance and influence over genuine choice.

This environment doesn’t actually prepare us for the future. Instead, it traps us in a feedback loop of hyper-curation, where every "choice" is ultimately a performance that kills the very concept of an individualised, self-determined story for the sake of a TedTalk or something as banal. To future proof, in this sense, is to surrender personal narratives and embrace a world where our identities are no longer ours to define.

The Cost of Hyper-Curated Futures

In the end, future proofing in the hands of influencers and brands is less about empowering consumers and more about steering them into a dependency cycle. Events like Madfest don’t prepare us for an uncertain future; they sell us an illusion of preparedness, all while eroding the essence of genuine choice and authentic joy. True future proofing would involve building resilience and intelligence that empower consumers to define their own paths. Yet as it stands, the rise of influencer-driven tech capitalism leaves us less prepared and more entrenched in a world where freedom feels increasingly like an accessory. They don't want to make choices but they do want to compare and comparison is the death of joy (sorry Kate Edwards, I stole your line again).

I promise you, the next installment will be like that time George Lucas rebranded the first Star Wars A New Hope. You've still got time to wash your smalls.