Imagined Future Scenarios
Robotics, Probable Futures, Short Term (1 - 3 years)
Scenario Generated from 'Industrial Firms Must Embrace Automation to Remain Competitive - SPONSOR CONTENT FROM SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC' - Harvard Business Review
Future Arc and Implications
Grow Arc
Social Impact: Increased productivity leads to higher standards of living and more leisure time, but also exacerbates inequality.
Technological Impact: Rapid advancements in robotics and AI drive further automation and efficiency gains across industries.
Ecological Impact: Increased production and consumption driven by efficient maintenance contribute to higher resource depletion and waste.
Economic Impact: Global GDP growth is significantly boosted, but also leads to resource scarcity and potential for economic bubbles.
Political Impact: Governments grapple with issues of job displacement and the ethical implications of widespread automation.
Narrative: Unfettered growth fueled by ever-improving AI-powered predictive maintenance systems leads to a resource-intensive yet prosperous future.
Collapse Arc
Social Impact: Widespread job displacement and economic instability cause social unrest and a breakdown of social cohesion.
Technological Impact: Maintenance systems fail due to unforeseen circumstances, triggering widespread cascading failures of critical infrastructure.
Ecological Impact: Resource depletion and environmental damage accelerate due to unregulated growth before the collapse.
Economic Impact: A global economic depression occurs, marked by widespread unemployment and financial instability.
Political Impact: Governments struggle to maintain order amidst widespread chaos and resource scarcity; societal trust erodes.
Narrative: Over-reliance on complex, interconnected systems leads to a catastrophic failure of predictive maintenance, triggering widespread societal collapse.
Discipline Arc
Social Impact: Society prioritizes stability and efficiency, leading to increased surveillance and social control but also enhanced resource management.
Technological Impact: Predictive maintenance is tightly integrated with centralized control systems, optimizing resource allocation and minimizing risk.
Ecological Impact: Resource consumption is strictly regulated, leading to greater sustainability and reduced environmental damage.
Economic Impact: Economic growth is deliberately managed to prevent instability, prioritizing long-term sustainability over rapid expansion.
Political Impact: Centralized, authoritarian governments manage and regulate all aspects of production and maintenance to ensure stability.
Narrative: A strictly regulated, globally-coordinated system uses predictive maintenance to manage resources and optimize societal stability.
Transform Arc
Social Impact: New societal values emerge, prioritizing sustainability, resilience, and human well-being over material wealth; work is redefined.
Technological Impact: Predictive maintenance technologies become decentralized and open-source, enhancing resilience and promoting community ownership of resources.
Ecological Impact: Resource consumption is minimized through innovative, sustainable technologies and practices, prioritizing ecological balance.
Economic Impact: New economic models emerge, prioritizing human needs and ecological health over traditional measures of GDP growth.
Political Impact: Decentralized governance systems and collaborative decision-making processes prioritize community needs and environmental responsibility.
Narrative: A paradigm shift in values leads to the development of decentralized, community-based systems for predictive maintenance, resulting in a more sustainable and equitable future.
