The AI Sustainability Paradox - Promise, Peril, and Planetary Futures – Episode 58

AI, Sustainability, and the Planet Under Pressure: Can Technology Help Us Navigate the Future?

In this week’s episode of Modem Futura, Andrew and I take on one of the most urgent and complex questions of our time:Can artificial intelligence meaningfully help humanity navigate planetary crises — without deepening them?

Our jumping-off point is the newly released 2025 synthesis report AI for a Planet Under Pressure, produced by the Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The report asks a deceptively simple but high-stakes question: Can AI be used responsibly and effectively to address climate change, biodiversity loss, freshwater stress, and other accelerating environmental pressures?

It’s the kind of question that seems tailor-made for futures thinking — a toolset we rely on heavily throughout the show. Because as we discuss, we’re not just talking about one technology or one problem. We’re talking about wicked problems: challenges that mutate as we try to solve them. Climate change, plastics pollution, ecosystem collapse, global energy transitions — these are dynamic, interconnected systems that resist silver-bullet solutions.

AI shows real promise. We now have models that can detect complex patterns in climate systems, accelerate protein discovery, optimize renewable-energy grids, and reveal future pathways humans simply cannot see on their own. These are powerful breakthroughs — and the report highlights dozens of examples where AI is already pushing sustainability science forward in meaningful ways.

But as we explore in the episode, this promise raises a difficult paradox:
AI requires enormous amounts of water, energy, and material resources. Data centers heat cities, strain local water supplies, and demand extractive mineral supply chains. Are we burning fossil fuels to solve the fossil-fuel crisis? And what does it mean when our sustainability solutions come with unsustainable footprints?

We also dig into the human side: the behaviors, incentives, and limitations that so often undermine long-term environmental action. Could AI help foster better cooperation? Could it assist governments, regions, and communities in seeing shared pathways forward that remain invisible today? Or does outsourcing too much responsibility risk numbing the very agency we need most?

These aren’t easy questions — but they’re necessary ones. And as Andrew points out, failing to have these conversations guarantees that someone else (or something else) will make those decisions for us.

If you’re curious about the intersection of AI, planetary futures, and the human condition, this is a conversation worth spending time with.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here 👇

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura wherever you get your podcasts and connect with us on LinkedIn. Drop a comment, pose a question, or challenge an idea—because the future isn’t something we watch happen, it’s something we build together. The medium may still be the massage, but we all have a hand in shaping how it touches tomorrow.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/43Y4Wwn

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/195UbUOIUv8oF587yNo1FM?si=d6d7cd6b05034703

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/O8gGpJZO-g4

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

The Metaverse - A Stack of Reality Layers – Episode 57

Layers of Reality: Exploring the Metaverse Stack

When the headset comes off, does the world you were just in disappear—or does it linger somewhere between your senses and memory?

n our latest episode of Modem Futura, Andrew Maynard and I explore the metaverse as more than a corporate buzzword or sci-fi dream. We approach it as a continuum of realities — a multi-layered “stack” that spans the physical and digital, each tier more immersive than the last.

From our own immersive sessions with the Apple Vision Pro, we reflect on that strange moment of re-entry—when the headset comes off and the world feels slightly less real. It’s a feeling that raises existential questions about presence, identity, and how AI-generated worlds are shaping the boundaries of human experience.

In this episode, we trace the metaverse’s origins from Neil Stephenson’s Snow Crash to today’s spatial computing revolutions. We ask what happens when digital spaces become persistent and indistinguishable from physical ones—and why futures thinking is essential for guiding that transition responsibly. From procedurally generated AI environments to the idea of “digital sustainability,” we discuss how these technologies will reshape privacy, ethics, and our collective sense of reality.

Ultimately, this conversation is about our tethers to truth. In an age of deeply immersive AI systems and blended realities, how do we find our totem—our anchor that keeps us grounded in what matters most? We believe that intentional design, transparency, and care must guide how we build these new worlds before they begin to build us.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura wherever you get your podcasts and connect with us on LinkedIn. Drop a comment, pose a question, or challenge an idea—because the future isn’t something we watch happen, it’s something we build together. The medium may still be the massage, but we all have a hand in shaping how it touches tomorrow.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/4p7ZZcr

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2C5LiGRYCdZgr5JijtK7LI?si=0FbAEihfTD6QXX5FN-2nag

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/iCAtutBmN5w

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

Through the lens: Spatial Computing with Apple Vision Pro – Episode 56

Just a couple of guys wearing nerd helmets and talking about the future of tech.

Inside Spatial Computing: Living (and Working) with Apple Vision Pro

e finally did it — we recorded inside Apple Vision Pro.

In this new episode of Modem Futura, Andrew Maynard and I decided to take spatial computing off the keynote stage and into real life — from multi-monitor workflows and long-haul flights to immersive video, panoramic memories, and even telepresence “personas.” We wanted to know: is this the start of a new computing era, or simply a beautiful distraction in search of a use case?

What we discovered surprised us.

Apple’s Vision Pro doesn’t want to be “VR.” It’s spatial — a computer that understands the world around you. Through pass-through video, eye-tracking, and hand-gesture control, it creates a workspace that’s not just 3D but responsive to you. One look or small pinch replaces the keyboard and mouse. It’s impressive, sometimes uncanny, and often quietly magical.

But behind the magic are deep questions about comfort, value, and human need. The headset’s design reveals how far we’ve come in rendering, latency, and foveated focus — and how far we still are from true wear-all-day computing. The device itself sparks larger conversations: What does “presence” mean when you can blank out reality at will? How will social norms adapt when everyone’s wearing cameras? And where does accessibility fit in when interaction becomes multimodal — eyes, hands, voice, and environment all working together?

Want to see what we've been up to? Here you can see a collection of Spatial videos of our podcast - these were all recorded using a 3-camera multicam setup each filming in Spatial video formats.

One of the biggest challenges at the present for spatial video (a deep dive for later) is that in addition to few people having headsets as compared to smartphones for example, most video platform services do not provide a way to consume Spatial video - including Apple's own Vision OS of all things. Yes you can send a video file (these are massive btw - in the order of 9-20GB each) - but at present there isn't an Apple supported cloud based video viewer to which you can watch Spatial videos posted by your friends and family etc. Personally, I really hope that YouTube will start to allow the playback of Spatial videos (assuming they will put an officially supported YouTube app on the Apple Vision Pro of course).

We also talk about what comes after the headset. Think of a layered ecosystem:

• Audio AR through your earbuds for subtle ambient context.

• Lightweight AR glasses for glanceable, social interaction.

• Full headsets for immersive creativity, co-presence, and exploration.

Rather than a single “device to rule them all,” spatial computing might evolve into a stack of experiences that adapt to how human attention, comfort, and curiosity really work.

It’s easy to be dazzled by tech specs, but the future of spatial computing depends less on what’s rendered and more on what it means to be present in digital space. That’s why we’re inviting developers, designers, and curious explorers to join us — to prototype, play, and imagine what spatial experiences could look like when they’re built for humans first.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura wherever you get your podcasts and connect with us on LinkedIn. Drop a comment, pose a question, or challenge an idea—because the future isn’t something we watch happen, it’s something we build together. The medium may still be the massage, but we all have a hand in shaping how it touches tomorrow.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/47Arkwv

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3V40dbWcrKZq9RCCmoP7Zh?si=s0CVT5aQS8WJ_CgbfMTBcg

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/IF3juEp9l_I

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

Tech or Treat: Exploring the Haunted Side of Future Tech

Are you ready for some Tech or Treat?

Modem Futura’s Halloween special transforms speculative futures into eerie fun. Hosts Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard use AI-generated scenarios to imagine haunted algorithms, sentient mirrors, and neural nightmare modes — revealing how emerging technologies can both thrill and unsettle us. This episode continues the show’s mission to explore how science, technology, and society intersect to shape the future of being human.

This episode grew out of our playful Futures Improv series, where we use AI to generate speculative prompts about the future — but this time, the prompts got a little… haunted. We explore “The Haunted Algorithm,” a defunct social-media AI that resurrects old user posts every October 31 — a digital séance that’s equal parts sentimental and unsettling. Then we look into “The Mirror That Remembers,” a smart-mirror concept that doesn’t just show your reflection, but who you might have been in another timeline. Finally, we enter “Neural Nightmare Mode,” imagining what could go wrong when brain-computer interfaces merge immersive gaming with fear response.

Each vignette uses humor and imagination to surface deeper questions: What does it mean when our digital selves outlive us? How do we ensure psychological safety in immersive tech? And at what point does innovation slip from magical to menacing?

Our goal isn’t to predict the future — it’s to provoke curiosity about how technology is reshaping what it means to be human. And if we can have some fun (and a few chills) along the way, even better.

You can stream the Halloween special wherever you get your podcasts or watch the illustrated episode on YouTube. If any of these scenarios inspire your own “Tech or Treat” ideas, share them with us — we’d love to feature the best ones in a future episode.

Subscribe and Connect!

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/4oovNKa

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/47nWrjvBW3ASjMuJUip8o1?si=96d8062d029a4834

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZmZ46sHgMZY

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

We Turned One - plus Liquid Media, Work Slop, and the Road Ahead – Episode 53

Year One, Human First: How We’re Building a Relational Future Podcast

When ChatGPT thinks you run a podcast gameshow - this is how it draws you ;)

Fifty‑two straight weeks, many guests, and countless “aha” moments later, Modem Futura just turned one. Instead of a victory lap, we used this episode to do what we always do: invite you into the studio while we make sense of the future—together.

From day one we set out to be relational rather than transactional. That means no polished lectures and no sugar‑coated takes. It means showing our work, making space for genuine curiosity, and trusting that a community grows when people feel like they’ve pulled up a chair at the table. Over the past year, that approach has taken us everywhere—from AI and AGI to bio‑hybrid robots, simulation hypotheses, autonomous mobility (including a Waymo ride‑along), space futures, and media theory, just to scratch the top of the list. Listeners have told us they’re using episodes to kick off team discussions, and yes, we’re even astronaut approved! (Thanks Cady). That’s rocket fuel!

This anniversary episode isn’t just about reflections we also look ahead. We probe “liquid media”—from tools like NotebookLM to Huxe’s 24/7 AI‑generated radio—and ask where convenience ends and exhaustion begins. We talk about “work slop,” the plausible‑sounding but soulless output AI can slip into workflows, and the hidden cognitive tax leaders pay to verify it. And to keep futures thinking playful, we run a “Futures Improv” lightning round: AI pets smarter than real ones? Brain‑to‑brain headbands at work? Meditation‑mandated robotaxis? Jurassic Park on the Moon? The point isn’t to predict perfectly—it’s to stretch how we think so we can exercise our radical creativity. (Maybe this should become a reoccurring segment? - I’ll need to craft up a quick theme song I think… )

What’s on the calendar for next year? Expect deeper dives into human‑centered AI, experiments with spatial and wearable interfaces (Vision Pro, Meta’s glasses), and conversations that foreground care—for people, institutions, and futures worth having. And as Andrew’s new book AI and the Art of Being Human lands, we’ll keep exploring how technology can amplify, not erode, what makes us…us.

Join us:

• Listen to the anniversary episode and subscribe on your favorite app

• Comment with one idea we should explore next—or what we should put in the “empty chair” on non‑guest weeks

• If the show sparked a conversation where you work, tell us how. We’ll highlight examples in a future episode.

If you believe better futures are built through candid, caring conversation, you’re in the right place.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura on a favorite podcast platform, follow on LinkedIn, and join the conversation by sharing thoughts and questions. The medium may still be the massage, but everyone has a chance to shape how it kneads modern culture—and to decide what kind of global village we ultimately build.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/48oB1QS

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1H29Q1LnP8oL7LER1gS6wa?si=5j97IKzGSjGJFlZSQMS-hg

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/FX0DmYgIe0w

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

AI and the Art of Being Human: How to Thrive with AI - Episode 52

Thrive with AI—Without Losing Yourself

What if the question isn’t “Will AI replace me?” but “How do I thrive—with AI—as me?” On Modem Futura we explore the intersection of emerging tech, society, and futures thinking—always with an eye to what it means to be human.

In this week’s episode, we launch AI and the Art of Being Human with guest Jeffrey Abbott—venture capitalist and founder of AI Salon—and go deep on a practical playbook for living and working well with AI. Rather than compete with the machine, the book reframes success around relationships, meaning, and personal dharma, then equips readers with 21 simple tools to move from anxiety to agency. Think reflection prompts you can use today, and a “conductor triangle” that balances data, context, and intuition when making decisions.

We also share how the book was built: co‑created with AI (transitioning from ChatGPT to Anthropic’s Claude), guided by a “shared compass” of Curiosity, Clarity, Intentionality, and Care, and coordinated through a living “lore book” that kept global, cinematic vignettes and recurring characters coherent across chapters. It’s a very human process—one that used AI to elevate craft, voice, and speed, not to shortcut thinking.

Another theme we loved: community. Through AI Salon’s 70+ chapters around the world, people are meeting in real life to explore what AI means for their work, families, and futures. That spirit animates the book’s final call: build intentional, protopian futures together—futures we would actually want to live in—by practicing care, not just efficiency.

Listen now, then tell us: Which tool will you try first? If the episode resonates, share it with someone who needs a nudge from “AI overwhelm” to intentional action.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura on a favorite podcast platform, follow on LinkedIn, and join the conversation by sharing thoughts and questions. The medium may still be the massage, but everyone has a chance to shape how it kneads modern culture—and to decide what kind of global village we ultimately build.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/42vrbJj

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/22Uc1SOdpq4Iuza3wFtXkT?si=fRbsJStYSJigIwBv6EpwsA

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/b0xROye7BkI

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

Futures Thinking: Foresight You Can Use – Episode 49

We don’t predict the future, but we prepared for the uncertainties the futures will bring

Ever been stuck in traffic and thought, “Where’s my eVTOL button?” We open this episode right there—and quickly flip the fantasy into a lesson on systems: technologies don’t fix congestion (or most complex problems) unless policy, behavior, equity, and infrastructure evolve with them. From that launchpad, Sean Leahy and Dr. Andrew Maynard unpack futures thinking as a mindset—distinct from prediction—that helps people and organizations navigate uncertainty with agency. They walk through the classic triad of possible, probable, and preferable futures, then translate it into practice: horizon scanning (signals, trends, megatrends), scenario building, and backcasting from a desired 10‑year outcome to concrete actions today. Along the way, they surface guardrails like avoiding “used futures” (inherited visions of someone else’s desired future) and stress‑testing for unintended consequences, especially for vulnerable communities and the planet.

The conversation ranges widely—think SimCity lessons and Mars‑city thought experiments as mirrors for Earth’s complexity; protopian (step‑by‑step better) versus utopian/dystopian frames; and why foresight shouldn’t be a bolt‑on consultancy only, but a capacity embedded across teams. Educators will appreciate a practical take on bringing futures thinking into K–12 and higher ed without “one more thing”: weave foresight into existing subjects to build creativity, inquiry, and resilience. Pop culture helps, too—using films (à la The Moviegoer’s Guide to the Future) creates a low‑stakes, high‑insight space to explore tough issues together. And for those tracking AI’s breakneck pace, the episode doubles as an antidote to future shock—a way to slow down, widen perspective, and choose well‑considered next steps.

Why it matters: Futures Thinking is for everyone - all humans poses the qualities needed to engage in thinking about our collective futures. Whether you lead a product team, a classroom, or a community, cultivating a futures mindset helps you spot weak signals earlier, align around preferable outcomes, and take action that nudges the world toward human flourishing.

Join the conversation:

What “used future” have you noticed in your field? If you were backcasting from a 2035 future you’d be proud of, what’s the first move you’d make this quarter? Drop your thoughts—and feel free to borrow this episode in your class, team meeting, or strategy offsite.

🎧 Listen to the full episode to dive deeper into how films shape our futures: https://apple.co/4nrAIci

📺 Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura

🎬 What film has changed the way you think about the future? Drop a comment — we’d love to hear.

If you’d like to dive deeper, jump into the link and listen to the podcast or watch the YouTube video. Join us as we explore the forces shaping our collective future and the urgent need to keep human values at the heart of innovation.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura on a favorite podcast platform, follow on LinkedIn, and join the conversation by sharing thoughts and questions. The medium may still be the massage, but everyone has a chance to shape how it kneads modern culture—and to decide what kind of global village we ultimately build.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/4nrAIci

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1OmUyc6fYdMIZ8thORheOJ?si=ZTQ-ZI7hQzSjNTy3jhjgfQ

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/85cTuht_a8k

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

Summer Vibes & Spatial Rides: Inside Vision Pro, F1 & Jurassic Reboots - Episode 39

☀️ It’s HOT in here… Dive into Modem Futura’s “Summer Vibes” episode, where hosts Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard unpack Apple Vision Pro spatial video, Jurassic World’s reboot, Formula 1’s cinematic debut, and China’s AI surge after WEF’s “Summer Davos”—all while exploring how these breakthroughs reshape humanity’s tech‑driven future.

🏖️ While the heat is cranked up in the studio (and Arizona in general) Andrew and I have a chance to unwind from our various summer travels for what we might call a “potpourri” episode where we just get to talk about several topics hot on our minds… So whether you’re off to the beach, the mountains, heading out on a grand holiday, or a much needed staycation - we hope you’ll enjoy some of these “summer” topics.

A Hands‑On Reality Check for Apple Vision Pro

After months of real‑world testing, Sean and Andrew compare wish‑list features and day‑to‑day realities of Apple’s first‑gen spatial computer. From stitching multi‑cam spatial video to designing XR‑ready podcast sets, they deliver practical tips, pitfalls to avoid, and a glimpse of how “work in mixed reality” could eclipse the old‑school laptop sooner than you think.

Jurassic Park vs. Jurassic World—Why Practical Effects Still Matter

Next the duo rewind to 1993’s Jurassic Park to ask: Did Spielberg’s animatronics age better than today’s CGI? Their verdict? New film Jurassic World: Rebirth nails spectacle, but the tactile magic of rubberized T‑rex skin still wins hearts. The debate morphs into a larger conversation on authenticity in digital storytelling—and what it might mean for future filmmakers, brand marketers, and immersive‑media designers.

Formula 1 Meets Hollywood IMAX

Gear-heads rejoice: Brad Pitt’s upcoming Formula 1 feature has Sean and Andrew excited over ultra‑wide‑angle cockpit shots, in‑camera VFX, and how motorsport’s data‑rich culture could reinvent cinematic narratives. They speculate on live telemetry overlays, fan‑controlled POV streams, and why F1 is the perfect test‑bed for mainstreaming real‑time spatial / immersive video.

China’s “Summer Davos” & the AI Arms Race

Fresh off the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of New Champions in Dalian, Andrew unpacks Beijing’s new national AI strategy, and start‑up phenom DeepSeek. The takeaway: global AI leadership is no longer a two‑horse race; it’s a sprint where policy, compute, and culture collide.

Low-background Steel

Sean and Andrew discuss the concept of John Graham-Cumming's Low-background Steel (pre-Ai) website, that represents a point (or perhaps line) in human history, in which all output after the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 will carry some level of “contamination” from generative AI. We explore what this means of the future of being human - and how might we think about this indelible mark on human history.

Why It Matters

Whether you’re a product manager, educator, investor, or lifelong learner, these topics converge on a single question: How will emergent tech redefine what it means to be human? From XR workspaces replacing offices to generative AI altering creative identity, the future is arriving faster—and stranger—than forecast.

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/45YQ1Ur

📺 Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura

If you’d like to dive deeper, jump into the link and listen to the podcast or watch the YouTube video. Join us as we explore the forces shaping our collective future and the urgent need to keep human values at the heart of innovation.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura on a favorite podcast platform, follow on LinkedIn, and join the conversation by sharing thoughts and questions. The medium may still be the massage, but everyone has a chance to shape how it kneads modern culture—and to decide what kind of global village we ultimately build.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/45YQ1Ur

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5pfl59Xi6W0rqcHce8QGwV?si=coazi5zDRt2Jm37ur4ouzw

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/-rAd8RuzUm0

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

Future Vibes: Sean & Andrew’s 2025 Summer Reading List – Episode 38

Sunshine, iced coffee, and a stack of books bigger than your carry-on: the Modem Futura crew is officially in vacation mode. In this episode, Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard trade their usual policy briefs for paperbacks, audiobooks, and a little healthy banter while curating a futurist-friendly “summer reading list.” Why fiction? Because, as Sean argues, big ideas often hide between star-ship battles and dinosaur breakouts, not only in white papers. Andrew adds that speculative worlds give us a safe sandbox to test tomorrow’s ethics—and besides, nothing pairs with sunscreen like a good apocalypse.

The conversation starts with how we read. Sean confesses he’s deep into audiobooks (pro-tip: narrator chemistry matters as much as plot), while Andrew waxes nostalgic about radio dramas and the duo laments that loss of an old art form of pure radio-plays or dramas and the power of sound-only storytelling.

Then come the picks. Sean’s pile skews toward propulsive series that open up worlds of emergent tech and moral quandaries: Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries, Hugh Howey’s silo trilogy (Wool, Shift, Dust), Dennis E. Taylor’s clone-happy We Are Legion (We Are Bob), and John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War. Classics make the cut too: Stanisław Lem’s mind-bending Solaris, Michael Crichton’s bio-engineering cautionary tale Jurassic Park, Douglas Adams’ irreverent Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and the heaven-hell hijinks of Pratchett & Gaiman’s Good Omens. Andrew arrives armed with literary wit and social sci-fi: Julie Schumacher’s academic farce Dear Committee Members, John Wyndham’s climate-chaos thriller The Kraken Wakes, Iain M. Banks’ cosmic intrigue in The Algebraist, Kai-Fu Lee & Chen Qiufan’s foresight anthology AI 2041, and a nostalgic return to childhood wonder with Swallows and Amazons and its sequel Swallowdale.

Sean and Andrew dig into why these stories matter now. Themes of sentient automation (Murderbot), post-climate survival (Wool), and multiverse governance (Bobiverse) echo real-world debates on AI alignment, geo-engineering, and planetary stewardship. They unpack adaptation hits and misses—Apple TV+’s Silo nails the bunker vibe; will Amazon’s forthcoming Murderbot capture SecUnit’s dry humor?—and argue that every futurist needs a dose of imaginative empathy before writing the next policy memo or paper.

Grab your earbuds, e-reader, or dog-eared paperback and join the conversation. After listening, hit reply or tag #ModemFutura to share the titles you’ll be packing—because the future is a story we’re all still writing.

Sean's Picks:

• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells [Amazon]

• Silo (Series) Wool (book 1) by Hugh Howey [Amazon]

• Jurassic Park: A Novel by Michael Crichton [Amazon]

• Solaris by Stanislaw Lem [Amazon] 

• Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman [Amazon] 

• Bobiverse (We are Legion) series by Dennis E. Taylor [Amazon]

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle [Amazon]

• Old Man's War by John Scalzi [Amazon] 

• Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams [Amazon]

Andrew's Picks:

• Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher [Amazon] 

• The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham [Amazon]

• Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome [Amazon second hand] (this one can be hard to find)

• The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks [Amazon]

• AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan [Amazon]

If you’d like to dive deeper, jump into the link and listen to the podcast or watch the YouTube video. Join us as we explore the forces shaping our collective future and the urgent need to keep human values at the heart of innovation.

Subscribe and Connect!

Subscribe to Modem Futura on a favorite podcast platform, follow on LinkedIn, and join the conversation by sharing thoughts and questions. The medium may still be the massage, but everyone has a chance to shape how it kneads modern culture—and to decide what kind of global village we ultimately build.

🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/4kkcvCC

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0cTCZZfLHR1sIYcHsd85bt?si=5adaec8264b74cc1

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/KnmMw4Nb3dM

🌐 Website: https://www.modemfutura.com/

Symbiotic Futures: Megatrends, Foresight, and Futures Thinking – Episode 31

From flying with an Apple Vision Pro to confronting an Iberian peninsula‑wide blackout, Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard unpack the Future Days “symbiotic futures” summit and discuss how the futures of emerging real‑world tech adventures (and mishaps) expose the urgency of futures thinking and strategic foresight—and share the need for awareness of megatrends, staying resilient, and keeping humanity front‑and‑center in an increasingly tangled digital world.

Trans-Atlantic red-eyes are rarely inspiring, yet this one kicked off our latest Modem Futura episode in style: Sean stuffed his Apple Vision Pro into his carry-on and discovered that row 24G can double as a multi-monitor studio—until a flight attendant tapped his shoulder and yanked him out of an AR-powered “flow state.” That jolt proved prophetic: given he landed in Lisbon just hours after a massive blackout had plunged Spain, Portugal, and parts of France into darkness, spotlighting just how fragile our techno-social infrastructures really are.

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/45kz9XI

📺 Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura

In this episode we unpack three intertwined themes: resilience, mindfulness, and strategic foresight. The Iberian outage becomes a live case study in cascading failure: digital payments, automated check-outs, ride-hailing apps—nothing works when the grid goes down. Yet crises like these also catalyze community; neighbors emerge with guitars and flashlights, rediscovering analog bonds that tech so often displaces.

From there we jump to Lisbon’s Future Days conference (the reason Sean was in Lisbon), whose “Symbiotic Futures” theme asked participants—from UN Futures Lab, UK Ministry of Justice, Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, and many many more including analysts to indie designers—how humans and systems can co-evolve without erasing one another. One clear takeaway: “futures thinking” isn’t a niche job description; it’s a competency every profession now needs. By scanning megatrends—those climate, geopolitical, and technological forces that reshape the next 10-15 years—we build the agility to thrive amid volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) volatility.

But preparedness requires cognitive breathing room, and that’s where the Dutch concept of Niksen—“the art of doing nothing”—enters the chat. Slowing down isn’t a luxury; it’s a strategy that lets us question which tools genuinely advance human flourishing and which merely accelerate the attention treadmill.

Throughout, we circle back to a simple call: if you value conversations that blend tech realism with human-centered optimism, rate and review Modem Futura. Every star elevates the show in Apple Podcasts’ algorithms and helps new listeners discover our global community.

If you’d like to dive deeper, jump into the link and listen to the podcast or watch the YouTube video. Join us as we explore the forces shaping our collective future and the urgent need to keep human values at the heart of innovation.

Subscribe and Connect!

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🎧 Podcast: https://apple.co/45kz9XI

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