Strategic Foresight Cohort spring 2024
We recently welcomed leaders from eight local organizations to Strategic Foresight training at the St. Norbert Abbey Center for Spirituality. Meet them here and discover what brought them to foresight training.
Welcome to the Envision Board of Directors, 2024
We welcome to our Board of Directors a chief strategy officer in the food production industry, a retired printing executive, and a consultant and executive coach. Meet them.
Latino Futures and Shared Prosperity
Judy Nagel, Upward Mobility Signals
Assertion: The United States is the most powerful country in the world. We do not need to change our policies.
Twenty years ago, the US made up 46.9% of world capitalization, by 2020 the share of world capitalization had increased to 54.6%The United States is first in world nominal GDP at 40.7% with China at 34.27%. China is first in PPP (purchasing power parity) GDP since 2014. Continue Reading Here
Around the World on World Futures Day
How did all this “World Futures Day” business get its start? Learn about the work of Humanity+, the Millennium Project, Teach the Future, and more, all brought together on March 1. Learn how World Futures Day has evolved.
World Futures Day a Success!
Nearly 400 local leaders, activists and civic-minded residents packed the room on March 1 to hear keynote speaker John Smart and local speakers John Werner and Gratzia Villarroel. They listened, asked questions, networked and considered. Read about World Futures Day 2024.
What powers Google data centers?
Judy Nagel, Upward Mobility Signals Team
Google has initiated a first-of-its-kind approach to powering its data centers –
geothermal energy! With the goal of accelerating a clean energy transition on a
planetary scale, Google has pioneered a horizontal drilling method. It uses new
techniques to harness the consistent heat from within the Earth’s crust and generate
electricity without burning fossil fuels or releasing carbon into the atmosphere. More on energy.
A State Corrections System for 2033
Jim Golembeski, Upward Mobility Signals Team
Historically, prison conditions in America are not a pretty picture. Wisconsin continues to spend an enormous amount of taxpayer dollars on a system that is inhumane and a vicious cycle for those caught up in it. The current situation at the Green Bay and Waupun prisons has been gaining a lot of media attention. So I ask, what is the single biggest reason that people are sentenced to prison in Wisconsin? Read more about our State Corrections System
Who is Our Customer? looking forward by looking within
Kent Paulsen, Director of the Dudley Birder Chorale
In fall 2024, the Dudley Birder Chorale of St. Norbert College will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, and,
like most 50-year-olds, we of the Chorale find ourselves in a collective mid-life crisis! We could clearly
see a possible future of “decline and collapse.” Our board officers enrolled in Envision’s strategic
foresight training to consider the future of our organization, and, in a wider context, the future of
performing arts among community groups. Two major insights emerged as we went through the
foresight process. Read about Who is our Customer here.
Generative AI: likely trends in 2024
Nan Nelson, Envision Board Member and Economic Transformation Signals Team
In 2022, Thomas Frey was our keynote speaker at World Futures Day here in Green Bay. Today he is examining artificial intelligence (AI) trends to watch for in 2024. He warns that “With prudent planning, generative AI can drive positive workforce transformation. But neglecting to develop the human capital to extract AI’s full value risks misuse, distrust, and widening inequality.”
Concerning impact on the workplace, Frey says: “New positions like prompt engineers, AI trainers, model interpreters, and tool explainers are already rising in demand. Skilled communicators who can distill complex business needs into natural language instructions suited for AI will also see significant opportunities. Technical roles developing user interfaces that build confidence in AI systems will similarly grow.
“Education and policy will need to emphasize these emerging skills while strengthening timeless human abilities like relationship-building, empathy, and holistic thinking. Life-long learning to stay ahead of AI’s evolving capabilities will be crucial.
Organizations that view their employees as partners in navigating this AI transition rather than costs to eventually eliminate will likely gain an edge through knowledge retention and human-AI collaboration.
Read Frey’s full article about the eight trends, including commentary on election meddling, content creation, reshaping manufacturing and business workflows, and more.
Good news on climate change!
COP, the United Nations’ annual global meeting on climate change, is being held in late November. Bill Gates says, “There are more reasons to be hopeful than many people realize—and it’s not just that renewable energy sources like wind and solar are getting cheaper. And it’s not just because many of the steps already taken to reduce carbon emissions are working: Carbon emissions from fossil fuels will probably peak in 2025. The main thing that makes me optimistic is all the innovation I’m seeing. Some people are skeptical when a technology person like me says innovation is the answer. And it’s true that new tools aren’t the only thing we need. But we won’t solve the climate problem without them.” Read more of what Bill Gates had to say on climate change.