Artifacts from the Future at IFTF

By David Pescovitz at 9:58 am Friday, Jun 9

At the Institute for the Future, my colleague Jason Tester creates "Artifacts from the Future," physical mock-ups of imaginary products, objects, and services that embody how new technology may someday impact our lives. In the new issue of Business 2.0, Chris Null looks at this forecasting methodology and showcases a handful of Jason's artifacts, including these RFID locators and blockers, and pharma fruit. From the article:

You might go to an IFTF presentation and see baskets of finessed fruit that promise cognitive enhancement. Or you might wake up in the hotel where the IFTF seminar was being held to find your newspaper dated 10 years hence.

Artifacts were intended to start conversations. They worked. Mark Schar, senior vice president of financial software company Intuit, an IFTF client, says, "When you present forecasts to a group of executives, you're standing there and waving your arms a lot. When you put an artifact in front of them, they go, 'Oh, I get it.'"

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