Date of launch: 1997

Institutions hosting the Node: Fast Future and London Futurists

Node Co-Chairs:

• Rohit Talwar, Futurist
• David Wood, Futurist

Objective: The overriding goal is to create ever deeper and ever more credible engagement around the emerging future with an ever broader community of individuals, politicians, civil society, business people, and academics. Our intent is to achieve this through serious analysis of critical developments, shifts, and the spectrum from incremental to radical scenarios for the next 3-40 years. Our main platforms are presentations, discussions, research, and publications. Our content encompasses:

• Reviewing emerging drivers of changes, shifts, development, uncertainties, weak signals, wildcards, and scenarios
• Exploring the potential upsides and downsides of these future factors
• Setting aside hype, sensationalism, over-optimism, and over-pessimism
• Highlighting information about possible future developments and scenarios that is trustworthy and clear
• Pooling our best insights into what’s likely, what’s technically feasible, and what’s societally desirable
• Debating what we can do so that these forces of change and radical technological possibilities can be harnessed to deeply enhance humanity rather than deeply diminish it

Recent activities: Watch the video Activity Report 2023 (PDF)

• Regular offline and online keynotes, workshops, regular expert webinars panel discussions (over 100 to date), research, training, and consulting.
• We are currently running a series of four ‘Future Frontier’ webinars co-hosted by the UK and Icelandic Nodes in partnership with the Icelandic Centre for Future Studies and Fast Future.
• We also have a longer programme of webinars on AI / AGI co-hosted by the UK Node, London Futurists, and Fast Future.
• Hosting videos of previous events.
• Bi-weekly newsletters.
• Research and publish books and reports:
• Selected books published by UK Node co-chair Rohit Talwar via Fast Future:
  • The Future of Business
  • Opportunity at the Edge — Change, Challenge, and Transformation on the Path to 2025
  • The Future Reinvented – Reimagining Life, Society, and Business
  • A Very Human Future : Enriching Humanity in a Digitized World
  • Beyond Genuine Stupidity – Ensuring AI Serves Humanity
  • Aftershocks and Opportunities – Scenarios for a Post-Pandemic Future
  • Aftershocks and Opportunities 2 – Navigating the Next Horizon
• Selected books published by UK Node co-chair David Wood via Delta Wisdom:
  • Vital Foresight
  • Sustainable Superabundance
  • Transcending Politics
  • The Abolition of Aging
  • Anticipating 2025
  • Smartphones and Beyond
• Special projects – Two currently underway:
  • The Rise and Implications of artificial general intelligence (AGI) – A joint initiative between the UK node, Fast Future, and London Futurists:
    • Survey of expert and informed opinion
    • Dissemination of insights arising from the survey
    • Recommendations on near-term practical actions needed
  • The Vital Syllabus – an initiative currently led by London Futurists to help uplift education:
    • Highlight the skills and principles that are the most important for students of all ages in the 2020s and beyond
    • Curate and (where appropriate) create new material, that is accessible, clear, engaging, precise, and authoritative, addressing all areas of the Syllabus

The UK node is currently looking for sponsors of the programme of work on The Rise and Implication of AGI. Please contact either of the co-chairs for further details.

Member: Tony Diggle