New Tools for Science Policy: Gaming the Future

Gaming the Future
Re-activating creativity and play in professional spaces

Remarkable failures of foresight make headlines all the time. The now-bankrupt Blockbuster could have purchased Netflix in 2000; policymakers missed signals of an impending downturn before the 2008 subprime market collapse; and Uber failed to anticipate the public outcry after a fatal accident in Arizona involving one of its autonomous vehicles. Despite access to powerful foresight tools, governments, companies, and individuals lack the capacity or the will to put insights about the future into practice.

In this New Tools breakfast seminar, Lauren Keeler argues that traditional foresight tools often do not effectively empower people to take action and they ask too little of people’s enormous capacity for creativity. Play, on the other hand, can motivate action, build connections, and spark innovation. But, play is often viewed as separate from professional activities and decision making.

Keeler introduces several games she has designed that guide individuals and organizations to envision new futures, reckon with potential shocks on the horizon, and engage in civil dialogue about important issues. Join us on April 26th to learn about these games and play them yourself!