WHAT IF WE DEVELOPED NEW ADAPTIVE FACULTIES?

2024: THE YEAR OF ADAPTATION ?

As it does every year in February, TBWA's global strategic planning and intelligence unit, Backslash, published its trend report, called 'EDGES', based on contributions from over 300 TBWA strategic spotters from all over the world. The theme of the 2024 edition is "ADAPTATION". The "EDGES 2024" report (click HERE to download), brings together the cultural movements that are shaping tomorrow's world, and which organizations and brands can draw on to give themselves a greater share of the future.?From the beginning, one thing is clear: EDGES is not just another trend book. You won't find the latest TikTok challenge, or the color of the moment. An 'EDGE' can be defined as a cultural shift: a cultural change rooted in human values, embodied in new behaviors, with the potential to transform society in profound and lasting ways. To be included in the annual selection of the EDGES report, an EDGE must be relevant worldwide, in at least half the countries on the planet.

TO SURVIVE, WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO ADAPT.

The "EDGES 2024" report includes 41 EDGES, from "Artificial creativity" to "Wealth hacking", "Inclusive by design", "Liquid reality", "roots revival" or "sexual liberation". Here, I've decided to tell you more about the five new EDGES that make their debut in the "EDGES 2024" report: "Demise duality", "Inclement armor", "Intimate AI", "Rerouted" and "Untourism".?What they have in common is that they are part of the broader trend towards survivalism, made necessary by the accumulation of existential risks in our societies and for our planet. To survive, we have no choice but to adapt, by adopting more responsible behaviors that respect ourselves, others and the planet.?

'DEMISE DUALITY': CONVERTING NIHILISTS INTO OPTIMISTS.

Radical pessimism leads to indifference and inaction. "DEMISE DUALITY" is one of the five new "EDGES" highlighted by the "EDGES 2024" report. It stems directly from the (unfortunately) increasingly shared idea that "humanity is doomed", and that it may already be too late to save it. In his latest book, "The revolt against humanity: Imagining a Future without Us", writer and poet Adam Kirsch highlights the common ground between "Anthropocene antihumanists", who believe that mankind is at the root of the planet's ills and that we will be responsible for our own destruction, and "transhumanists", who believe that the only way to save humanity is to develop a new form of intelligence. Their two apparently opposing theses lead to the same effect: antinatalism, which leads us to believe that it is morally wrong to have new children in such a world, and which is embodied in the slowing down of births. With over 60% of the population living in countries experiencing demographic decline, governments are trying to implement natalist policies. Aware of the risk of inhibiting demoralization, a consequence of the "society of fear" they helped to create, the media are also getting in on the act, advocating solutions-based journalism, or developing new optimistic programs, such as "Future Chicken", which aims to give 6–10-year-olds hope of a better world. This trend also explains the growing use of psychotropic drugs worldwide. In his latest book, "What we owe to the future", the Scottish philosopher William McAskill defends the thesis of "long termism", proposing that everyone can regain hope by undertaking actions that will contribute to the long-term survival of humanity. In the same spirit, the "Protopia" movement, theorized by author and futurist Kevin Kelly in 2010 in his book "What technology wants", is developing as an alternative to anguished dystopias and comforting utopias, imagining a desirable future in which societies improve their living conditions and those of the planet. The time has come to adapt by adopting a reasonable optimism.?

'INCLEMENT ARMOR': DEVELOPING NEW CLIMATE PROTECTION SOLUTIONS.

Extreme weather events are becoming our new reality. The need to protect against them is becoming a priority, inspiring many forms of protective initiatives to provide us with climate-resistant armor. This is what the "INCLEMENT ARMOR" Edge stands for, literally meaning "the inclement tack", the protection that an inclement climate requires.? This translates, for example, into the invention of a new generation of more airy garments, incorporating their own air-conditioning system, or sun-absorbing materials to reduce the heat felt by a few degrees. It also means the development of new weather warning and anticipation systems. Or through the creation of new types of insurance linked to climatic hazards, such as drought insurance for farmers in Vietnam, or travel insurance in the event of extreme heat. Or through a new conception of housing, an example of which is the creation of a new generation of buildings designed to withstand floods or tsunamis. Faced with the consequences of global warming, it is becoming increasingly necessary to adapt by anticipating the worst and developing new protection systems.

'INTIMATE AI': ALWAYS HAVE YOUR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH YOU.

The third new entry in the "EDGES 2024" is directly linked to the development of generative artificial intelligence, with the advent of personalized generative AI. The impact of artificial intelligence was already considered in its creative dimension by another "EDGE", "Artificial creativity", which you can find in the full report. But the new EDGE: "INTIMATE AI", literally "Intimate Artificial Intelligence", highlights the way in which artificial intelligence slips into the intimacy of our lives, like a permanent companion or assistant that adapts to us as much as we adapt to it. Since OPEN AI launched its "AI Store", enabling everyone to develop their own personal AI, over three million specialized, personalized chatbots have been created. Generative artificial intelligence can be found everywhere, in your glasses or a clothing accessory, as well as in all our usual software with Microsoft Copilot, intervening in a multitude of tasks, both professional and personal. As AI spreads and becomes integrated everywhere, the question of how to develop AI that is adapted to humans, rather than humans adapting to AI, becomes increasingly crucial.

'REROUTED': RE-LEARNING HOW TO GET AROUND.

The transition to smarter, more sustainable mobility is ahead of us, but requires new infrastructures to create new behaviors on a massive scale. This is what is meant by the EDGE "REROUTED", literally "redirected", which embodies the urgent need to radically change the way we get around. The accelerated electrification of vehicles calls for the development of innovative, high-performance battery recharging infrastructures in both town and country. All modes of transport are affected by the reinvention of mobility, from drones and buses to trains and aircraft, with the reduction of night flights to reduce noise around airports (at Schipol and Orly), the reconsideration of the use of private jets and the acceleration of research into hydrogen solutions (Airbus). But infrastructure is not enough if attitudes do not change. All over the world, public authorities are trying to accelerate the adoption of new travel behaviors, with incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles, or flat-rate pricing for public transport to encourage people to give up their private cars (such as the Climate Card in Seoul, an unlimited public transport pass that includes bicycle use for less than $3 a month, or the German D-Ticket launched in 2023, which has convinced more than a million car drivers to switch to public transport. Whatever the investment, the new mobility requires a transformation of mentalities, and an adaptation of our lifestyles to a more ecological way of getting around.

'UNTOURISM': BECOMING CONSCIOUS TOURISTS.

The days of unlimited travel are numbered. It's no longer a question of accumulating trips like counting trophies, but of substituting quality for quantity, by adopting a more reasonable form of tourism. This is what the term "UNTOURISM", implies, literally "non-tourism", which advocates a new, more responsible and sustainable approach to tourism. From the design of "Carbon Passports", to the regulation of tourist flows in certain cities, via the limitation of certain modes of transport in certain places (such as helicopters in National Parks, or cruise liners in Venice or Amsterdam), the challenge is not to ban tourism, but to redirect the flow of tourists to local destinations by promoting more authentic and less polluting experiences. Here again, the key to success lies in rethinking the criteria for choosing tourist destinations. And adapting our expectations to the demands of more responsible, conscious tourism.

NO TIME TO WASTE ON ADAPTING.

These five new EDGES complement the 36 other EDGES in the EDGES 2024 report, which I recommend you read in full (click here to download). They show just how urgently we need not only to adapt the world around us, but above all to adapt ourselves to the demands of a sustainable world. Because we already have many answers to implement: consume better, repair and recycle more, innovate in an inclusive and frugal way, give priority to human relationships, give everyone control over their bodies and their data... The challenges are numerous, and so are the experiments. We simply can't afford to waste too much time adapting. Never forget Stephen Hawking's inspiring thought: "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change".