Future Tense

Rethink productivity by focusing on outcomes instead of output. Benefit corporations prioritize social and environmental goals. Compulsory savings model to control inflation. Embrace stakeholder capitalism and solve global problems. Legal structures and certifications for benefit corporations. Shift from fiscal to monetary policy dominance in managing inflation.

Scientists are experimenting with sound to try and lure seabirds back to depleted environments. But not just any sounds – we're talking about the coos and calls associated with breeding. It's all part of an ecological approach called Acoustic Restoration and its already having an impact on Palmyra Atoll – a remote island halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa. It's hoped the acoustic approach can revive many different kinds of ecosystems, even after natural disasters — when nothing is left. Also, why machine learning is causing a reproducibility crisis in Science; and ongoing research into 3D-printing food.

Around two billion air conditioners are currently in use across the globe but the amount of electricity they use is not sustainable, so what are some alternatives?

Chatbots and other forms of interactive AI aren't just shaping our online preferences, they're gradually redefining the contours of what we mean by love, sexuality and intimacy. Sociologist Anthony Elliott warns the impacts will be society-wide, not just personal. Also, do we need a set of general principles for managing chatbot liability in the absence of regulation? And how the rights of children are being overlooked in the hyper-contructed world of the "momfluencer".

Why do otherwise sensible people continue to do things that are bad for them, that impact negatively on their personal future? Also, what happens in the brain when you're trying to make or break a habit?  Temptation, addiction and habit formation – mapping the pathways to self-destruction and how to navigate a better course. 

2023 could be the year we finally reach a tipping point in the fight against climate change. The energy think-tank Ember predicts global greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector (which accounts for 30% of global emissions) are finally on the way down. Also, a tipping point of a very different kind – experimentation in neuro-technology is now so advanced that ethicist Nita Farahany believes companies and governments will soon be trawling our thoughts the way they currently trawl our digital communications. She's talking of a new human right – a right to cognitive liberty.

Exploring new ideas, new approaches, new technologies — the edge of change.

Amazon now feels more like a racket than an open shopping platform; you can't find posts from your friends on Facebook because it's clogged with unsolicited advertising; and Uber no longer seems like a cool, efficient taxi service, it's morphed instead into a global machine for turning gig workers into the new underclass – it's all part of a process Cory Doctorow has dubbed "enshittification". In this feature interview, the Canadian sci-fi author, journalist and digital rights activist explains why the digital world seems so exploitative and tawdry. But he has optimism for how things might be improved in the future.

Exploring new ideas, new approaches, new technologies — the edge of change.

Japan has long prided itself on its pacifist constitution. The country's future after WW II was defined by Article 9 which famously denounced aggression. But, in recent years security has become a paramount concern with increasing tensions around the status of nearby Taiwan and challenges from neighbouring countries. The Japanese are now renegotiating how best to defend themselves and their interests, while holding true to constitutional restraint. What that could mean for the future of Japan and its allies is of global interest and concern.