At the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, there's one particular session where people start queueing around four in the morning to get a seat. It's not one of the big-name music performances or a movie screening with awards buzz, it's a keynote by Amy Webb.
Webb, who is the founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute (FTI), is a futurist. She's a professor of strategic foresight, a data and research-driven field that unpacks what could be in an increasingly complex world. Webb's 2024 Tech Trends Report, which is downloaded more than a million times every year, is made up of just under a thousand pages of insights businesses rely on to navigate the future.
Predicting what comes next may be big business but it's not necessarily new. While modern futurists use data to forecast possible future scenarios and spot emerging opportunities, the science of probability - long-term planning - has been around since the 1940s.
And before futurology became an academic field and job role, science fiction authors like H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Arthur C. Clarke, were recognized as futurists with an uncanny ability to foresee the world to come. Today, there are a number of well-known futurists sought out by industry giants (and the government) to steer business strategy and adapt to disruptive change. Businesses are hiring futurists to tell them the things they don't want to hear so that they can prepare for unforeseen inevitabilities.
Meet the futurists
Denne historien er fra June - July 2024-utgaven av Forbes Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June - July 2024-utgaven av Forbes Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND
IN THE PRISTINE WILDERNESS OF GABON ARE THE MAJESTIC AND GENTLE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS. A FIRSTHAND REPORT FROM OUR TRAVEL WRITER ON WHAT GOES INTO HABITUATING THEM.
CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues transforming many industries, providing unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. However, these advancements bring complex challenges that necessitate a delicate balancing act.
BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
The great poet William Butler Yeats once said, \"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.\"
The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style
In the dynamic world of street dance, passion and perseverance pave the way for success. Living out this ethos is South African born B-girl turned businesswoman, Courtnaé Paul.
COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING
It is a workplace reality that caring too much for your colleagues can hurt you.
IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE
Have you found your niche? I received a lot of advice when I set up my company, but perhaps the most important consisted of just three words: Find Your Niche.
HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO
When all else fails, try sports. It's good for the soul.
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT
British author Roald Dahl tapped into every chocoholic's imagination when creating Willy Wonka's bizarre chocolate factory in his 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'
Arnold Vosloo Actor
BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS
Amid the widespread global support for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was an underlying concern among economists and financial advisors in the emerging and frontier markets: public sector and donor funds were stalled, if not regressing, and the funding gap to realize the SDGs was increasing.
