The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist can be categorized as either permanent, meaning that it will exist forever, or temporary, meaning that it will end. In the Occidental view, which uses a linear conception of time, the future is the portion of the projected timeline that is anticipated to occur. In special relativity, the future is considered absolute future, or the future light cone.
Futurists are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities about the future and how they can emerge from the present, whether that of human society in particular or of life on Earth in general.
Futures studies, futures research, futurism or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends; often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and work in the future. Predictive techniques, such as forecasting, can be applied, but contemporary futures studies scholars emphasize the importance of systematically exploring alternatives. In general, it can be considered as a branch of the social sciences and an extension to the field of history. Futures studies seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change. Part of the discipline thus seeks a systematic and pattern-based understanding of past and present, and to explore the possibility of future events and trends.
Barry Owen Jones,, is an Australian polymath, writer, teacher, lawyer, social activist, quiz champion and former politician. He campaigned against the death penalty throughout the 1960s, particularly against the execution of Ronald Ryan. He is on the National Trust's list of Australian Living Treasures.
The Association of Professional Futurists (APF) was founded in 2002 to validate the competencies of emerging futurists. As analysts, speakers, managers or consultants, APF's credentialed members cultivate strategic foresight for their organizations and clients. APF represents the professional side of the futures movement, while groups such as the World Futures Studies Federation, the World Future Society or The Millennium Project, represent its academic, popular, and activists expressions, respectively.
Marcia Lynne Langton is an Australian academic. As of 2022 she is the Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. Langton is known for her activism in the Indigenous rights arena.
Nine Entertainment is an Australian publicly listed media company with holdings in radio and television broadcasting, newspaper publications and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate branding and also prefers this usage to be used for the parent company.
Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased The Sydney Morning Herald in 1841. The Fairfax family retained control of the business until late in the 20th century.
The University of Houston College of Technology is the second largest among 13 schools and colleges at the University of Houston. It offers 11 undergraduate degrees and 12 graduate degrees throughout four different departments. In Fall of 2017, there were 6,520 students enrolled in the college. The University of Houston has a new building in Sugar Land, Texas, for the College of Technology; programs are being moved there and a couple of programs will solely be offered at that campus.
Terry Flew is an Australian media and communications scholar, and Professor of Digital Communication and Culture in the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Sydney, Australia. He was formerly the Professor and Assistant Dean (Research) in the Creative Industries Faculty at the Queensland University of Technology. He has produced award-winning research in creative industries, media and communications, and online journalism. He is primarily known for his publication, New Media: An Introduction, which is currently in its fourth edition. His research interests include digital media, global media, media policy, creative industries, media economics, and the future of journalism.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to futures studies:
Global Business Network (GBN) was a leading consulting firm that specialized in helping organizations to adapt and grow in an uncertain and volatile world. The firm was particularly well known for using tools such as scenario planning and also offered experiential learning with networks of experts and futurists.
Small World Social is a technology company based in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 2008, the company now has offices in Melbourne, Australia and San Francisco, USA with staff based all over the world.
Sohail Inayatullah is a Pakistani-born Australian academic, futures studies researcher and a professor at the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan.
Legal technology, also known as Legal Tech, refers to the use of technology and software to provide legal services and support the legal industry. Legal Tech companies are often startups founded with the purpose of disrupting the traditionally conservative legal market.
Jerome C. Glenn is a futurist who serves as the executive director of the Millennium Project. He has been the executive director of the American Council for the United Nations University (1988–2007) and the deputy director of Partnership for Productivity International.
Andy Hines is an American futurist, head of graduate studies in Foresight at the University of Houston, and author of several books on strategic foresight. Hines is a professional futurist, co-creator of the framework foresight method, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Foresight at the University of Houston, Principal of foresight consulting firm Hinesight, and former organizational futurist at Kellogg Company and Dow Chemical. He has written extensively on futures studies, strategic foresight, foresight research methods, the role of organizational futurists, and the consumer landscape.
The State Office Block was a landmark modernist skyscraper complex on a block bounded by Phillip Street, Bent Street and Macquarie Street in the central business district of Sydney. Completed in 1965 and designed in the modernist International style by Ken Woolley from the NSW Government Architect's Office, the 128-metre-high building took the title of the tallest building in Australia from the nearby AMP Building until 1967, when Harry Seidler's 170m Australia Square tower was completed. Designed to hold offices of the NSW Government, including the cabinet and the Premier's office, the State Office Block was demolished in 1997 to make way for Renzo Piano's Aurora Place development.
Pero Mićić is a German professor for Foresight and Strategy at Steinbeis-Hochschule Berlin, as well as author, public speaker and management consultant. He is the founder and CEO of the FutureManagementGroup AG. Mićić lives in Eltville, Germany.
Davina Gainor Jackson is a Sydney based international writer and editor of books and websites promoting satellite technologies for urban development and recording pan-Pacific architectural and maritime history. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Society of New South Wales.
