Collaboration tools proactively identify and suggest relevant experts from across the organization to contribute to specific project tasks.

Imagined Future Scenarios

Collaboration Tools, Plausible Futures, Short Term (1 - 3 years)

Scenario Generated from 'Devin 1.2: Updated AI engineer enhances coding with smarter in-context reasoning, voice integration' - VentureBeat

Future Arc and Implications

Grow Arc

Social Impact: Increased efficiency leads to more projects and faster career advancement, but also potential for burnout.

Technological Impact: Collaboration tool AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, integrating more data sources and predicting expertise needs accurately.

Ecological Impact: Increased productivity drives greater resource consumption and environmental impact through project proliferation.

Economic Impact: Exponential growth in project output fuels economic expansion, benefiting companies that leverage collaboration tools effectively.

Political Impact: Governments adopt similar tools for internal collaborations, increasing efficiency but raising concerns about surveillance.

Narrative: Exponential growth fueled by hyper-efficient collaboration leads to unprecedented levels of production and consumption.

Collapse Arc

Social Impact: Over-reliance on AI in collaboration leads to deskilling and a inability to collaborate effectively when the system fails.

Technological Impact: System overload and data breaches cripple the collaboration tool, disrupting projects and exposing sensitive information.

Ecological Impact: Economic downturns lead to reduced investment in collaboration tools, hindering environmental projects and resource management.

Economic Impact: Loss of trust in the system and data breaches lead to economic stagnation as collaboration grinds to a halt.

Political Impact: Government institutions crumble, leaving projects unsupported and collaboration fractured due to lack of coordination.

Narrative: Over-dependence on a failing AI collaboration system exacerbates societal breakdown, leading to widespread project failures and economic decline.

Discipline Arc

Social Impact: Collaboration becomes highly structured and controlled, stifling creativity and leading to conformity in project execution.

Technological Impact: AI is meticulously programmed to optimize collaboration based on predefined rules and efficiency metrics, limiting individual autonomy.

Ecological Impact: Collaboration tools are used to enforce strict environmental regulations, leading to standardized and controlled resource usage.

Economic Impact: A highly regulated economy favors predictable project outcomes, limiting innovation and hindering disruptive startups.

Political Impact: Centralized control over collaboration enables the government to monitor and direct project activity, suppressing dissent.

Narrative: A tightly controlled society utilizes AI collaboration to enforce conformity and optimize productivity according to pre-determined metrics.

Transform Arc

Social Impact: Collaboration becomes decentralized and purpose-driven, empowering individuals and fostering innovation across diverse communities.

Technological Impact: AI assists in connecting people with shared values and goals, enabling self-organizing collaborations for social and environmental good.

Ecological Impact: Collaboration focuses on sustainable practices and regenerative projects, driven by a shared commitment to environmental stewardship.

Economic Impact: New economic models emerge based on collaborative value creation and equitable resource distribution, prioritizing social impact.

Political Impact: Decentralized governance platforms leverage collaboration tools to empower citizens and foster participatory decision-making.

Narrative: AI facilitates purpose-driven collaboration, fostering a decentralized society focused on social and environmental transformation.

Product ideas generated based on this scenario

Burnout Prevention Analytics

A collaboration tool module that monitors employee workload, project involvement, and communication patterns to predict and prevent burnout. It suggests workload adjustments, promotes time-off, and encourages healthy communication habits. It Integrates into existing collaboration platforms.

Circular Project Management Platform

A project management and collaboration platform designed to minimize resource consumption and waste by incentivizing the reuse, repurposing, and recycling of project materials. It connects projects based on resource needs and facilitates the exchange of underutilized assets.

Decentralized Expertise Network

A backup, decentralized network for skill registry and project sourcing operated through a blockchain. When centralised AI breaks down, teams easily find workers for specific projects and tasks based on user reputation and past projects.

Analog Collaboration Toolkit

A collection of offline tools and methodologies (whiteboards, physical Kanban boards, in-person workshops guides) designed to facilitate effective project collaboration in the absence of digital infrastructure. Includes training for collaboration.

Performance Optimization Dashboard

A collaboration platform that gamifies workplace performance according to pre-defined productivity metrics and company objectives. Tasks are rated and automatically prioritized to achieve maximum efficiency and adherence to standards. It integrates with existing enterprise collaboration platforms.

Conformity Checker

A feature added to collaboration tools which scrutinizes project communications (text, presentation slides, etc.) for deviations against approved messaging and standardized workflows. Flags non-compliant wording and provides suggested replacements to ensure conformity.

Purpose Alignment Engine

AI-powered collaboration platform that matches individuals to projects aligned with their personal values, skills, and desired impact. Facilitates self-organizing teams dedicated to solving social and environmental challenges. Prioririzes people over profit.

Collaborative Commons Platform

A platform that utilizes decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to manage shared resources (e.g., data, open-source code, equipment) for collaborative projects. Enables communities to pool resources, make collective decisions, and ensure equitable distribution of benefits.

Projects inspired by this scenario

What if our digital tools vanished overnight? Could you build something new from physical skills alone?

Echoes of Touch: A speculative design project exploring the revival of analog collaboration skills and community spaces in a post-AI-failure Sao Tome and Principe.