Imagined Future Scenarios
Artificial Intelligence, Probable Futures, Short Term (1 - 3 years)
Scenario Generated from 'The 15 fastest-growing jobs in the US, according to LinkedIn' - Business Insider
Future Arc and Implications
Grow Arc
Social Impact: Increased acceptance of AI in managing environmental impact, but inequalities persist in access to benefits.
Technological Impact: AI-driven monitoring becomes ubiquitous, leading to incremental efficiency gains but also increased data dependency.
Ecological Impact: Partial improvements in resource management are offset by continued overall growth in consumption and pollution.
Economic Impact: AI-driven efficiency creates economic opportunities, but exacerbates existing wealth disparities based on AI access and control.
Political Impact: Governments promote AI adoption for sustainability, but struggle to regulate its wider impact on resource consumption.
Narrative: AI helps refine existing systems, enabling continued growth with slightly reduced environmental impact, but fundamental consumption patterns remain unchanged.
Collapse Arc
Social Impact: AI systems fail due to complexity and resource scarcity, leading to widespread distrust and social unrest.
Technological Impact: AI infrastructure collapses due to cascading failures, data corruption, and lack of maintenance amidst societal breakdown.
Ecological Impact: Environmental monitoring ceases, leading to uncontrolled resource depletion and accelerating ecological damage.
Economic Impact: Economic collapse ensues as supply chains break down and faith in technological solutions erodes.
Political Impact: Existing governments lose control as societal infrastructure and resources fail, leading to localized power struggles.
Narrative: Over-reliance on AI masks systemic vulnerabilities, leading to a catastrophic failure of environmental monitoring and societal systems when resources become scarce and systems fail, precipitating widespread collapse.
Discipline Arc
Social Impact: Strict AI-driven monitoring enforces resource rationing and citizen compliance under a centralized authority.
Technological Impact: AI is used to track and control resource consumption, enforcing adherence to rigid sustainability targets with limited privacy.
Ecological Impact: Environmental degradation is curtailed through strict monitoring and enforcement, but at the cost of individual freedoms.
Economic Impact: A centralized authority manages resource allocation and production, prioritizing sustainability over individual economic choice.
Political Impact: A powerful centralized government or global entity enforces sustainability measures through AI-powered surveillance and control.
Narrative: An authoritarian regime leverages AI for total environmental control, sacrificing individual freedoms and economic diversity for mandated sustainability.
Transform Arc
Social Impact: AI facilitates a shift in values towards more holistic and interconnected understanding of the environment.
Technological Impact: AI enables decentralized and participatory environmental management, empowering individuals and communities.
Ecological Impact: AI facilitates a regenerative approach to resource management, leading to ecological restoration and long-term sustainability.
Economic Impact: A circular economy emerges based on AI-driven resource optimization, leading to sustainable prosperity and equitable distribution.
Political Impact: Decentralized governance structures emerge, empowered by AI to collectively manage environmental resources and promote sustainability.
Narrative: AI catalyzes a fundamental transformation in values and practices, leading to a decentralized, regenerative, and sustainable future where humans live in harmony with the environment.
