For many of us, the future is an abstract space: a hazy destination we'll reach, a time we'll arrive at, a fate to be revealed. But there's a thriving ecosystem of futurists across the globe bound together by a belief in our power to research and shape possible tomorrows. While many have heard of the futures industry, few really know what it is. Futurists may be technologists or consultants, artists or writers, activists or urban planners, and their work touches everything from military strategy to climate policy to consumer gadgetry. They cluster in capitals like Beijing, London, and Silicon Valley, but vibrant subcultures can be found among indigenous communities, throughout the contemporary art world, and in the deepest corners of the internet.
For decades, futurists have quietly helped shape the technological, geopolitical, and cultural landscapes of the modern world, and yet their impact on 21st century life has been little discussed outside of niche circles. Who exactly are these architects of tomorrow? What ideologies and agendas do they bring to their work? How did the future become a booming commercial industry, and who does this industry serve?