The ANU School of Cybernetics aims to create a platform for us to better prepare for hopeful futures.
At this moment in time, we grapple with multi-faceted social, cultural, political and economic pressures, all exacerbated by ongoing fears of artificial intelligence (AI). These challenges have varying degress of impact – some inform our daily experiences, while others subtly influence broader societal and environmental structures including national security, democratic stability and economic resilience.
Our seemingly tumultuous present was once considered somebody’s ‘future’. Today, we replicate the behaviours of those in our distant past; we strive for the best outcomes for an imagined future. How might we best approach the choices we make today to better inform the future of tomorrow? How might we think about, describe and visualise our futures and enact them in the present?
Feedforward: A guide to creating hopeful futures comprises five papers that position the cybernetic approach to futures, present complementary tools developed to support this work, and cover the specific role of hope in effecting systems change.
What it is and why it matters
The history of cybernetics and how it feeds into the future.
A Cybernetic Approach to Futures
A call for a different type of futures thinking and doing.
The Cybernetic Futures Framework
Creating tools for individuals and organisations to think about futures.
A compass to navigate the future
Navigating broader and more fluid understandings of the systems we work in.
Hope and systems change
Mechanisms for resilience, engagement, and creativity.
