A Brief History of the Future

The series begins by joining Ari as he sets out on a journey to widen our perspective on where we find ourselves in the human story today and in the tomorrows that follow. He meets the individuals showcasing the long-term thinking and decisions that will benefit future generations as we work to become the great ancestors the future needs us to be.

How do we make sense of today’s exponential rate of change and disruption? In episode two, Ari explores the historically transformational moment we are currently living in, why it is causing so many of us to feel overwhelmed and afraid, and how it actually offers unprecedented possibilities for new and exciting futures we can create together.

How do the stories we tell shape the boundaries of our beliefs about what is possible? From the dawn of time, stories are how humans have made sense of the world. Episode three emphasizes the fundamental role stories play in our lives, our inclination towards dystopian narratives, and the potential for bigger, better stories to unleash the power of human imagination and creativity moving forward.

In episode four Ari explores the human ability to increase empathy and compassion, what values we are instilling into artificial intelligence technologies, and the need to create both a better world and a better humanity for life to survive and flourish on this planet.

How can we create futures that serve the needs of all people? Humans are inherently social and, throughout history, what has set us apart time and time again is our unique capacity for cooperation. Episode five explores our capacity to cooperate, the effects of modern individualism, and how new global collaboration will be vital in a future that depends on our ability to come together.

Examining the ways we often see the future as a rigid and singular concept rather than the multiple possible futures before us, the crucial need to think much, much bigger about what could come next, and how we all have more personal agency than we realize.