#Futures…
Ben Swift, School of Cybernetics
…of Individuals and Institutions
Wright Hall Leadership Symposium ‘22
I’d like to acknowledge and celebrate the First Australians on whose traditional lands we meet, and pay respect to the elders past and present.
my journey
#institutionalised for sure
#but also an individual path
maths UG → computing PhD → computing academic
I’m now the Educational Experiences lead at the School of Cybernetics
#what is cybernetics?
the study of purposeful, self-regulating systems
#futures
#why futures?
the ways we think about the future affect the systems we build in the present (both individual and institutional) and vice versa
futures is a set of practices and frameworks to help us think differently about the future
see the TED talk
#the thing from the future
a participatory keynote
#outline
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1:30pm | intro |
| 1:45pm | activity: speed futures |
| 2:10pm | activity: possible? preferable? |
| 2:20pm | discussion: where to conform? where to be empowered? |
#speed futures
in pairs, come up with a (post-it sized) description of a thing from the future according to a prompt:
in a ____ future, there is a ____ related to ____ … what is it?
#example: Travel Bits
a snack with a chemical ingredient that triggers certain sensual events and effects. In this example the Italy flavour gives you the smells, tastes and sounds of sitting on the grand canal.
it’s the thing from the future time
#speed futures
in pairs, write a post-it sized description of a thing from the future according to the prompt (one per pair)
5 minutes; leave the completed post-it at your station
#possible? preferable?
in your final pair, grab all the post-its left at your station
discuss how possible and preferable each thing is
stick all the post-its on the main whiteboard
#where to conform? where to be empowered?
let’s see what y’all came up with
#the punchline
the ways we think about the future affect the systems we build in the present (both individual and institutional) and vice versa
futures is a set of practices and frameworks to help us think differently about the future