Feeling Lost in Paradise?!

Without a vision, AI can’t serve us, and without asking the right question, we can’t serve ourselves.

 What Would an Ideal Day Be Like in 100 Years’ Time? 

Have you ever wondered where we are going? Where we are going with all this technology emerging seemingly out of nowhere and changing every aspect of our lives at the speed of light?

Does it frighten you as much as it does me? What aspect, or aspects, frighten you? For me, it’s not the technology itself – I find it rather fascinating. What frightens me is that technology today is emerging not from a clear long-term vision, but rather in response to isolated needs and commercial opportunities.

For example, if you don’t have time – or simply don’t want to – call your parents every day, well, there is an AI for it now – and as a bonus, after each call, you get a short summary – so you know how they’re feeling, what inspired them, or if they didn’t pick up. Another example you’re probably already very familiar with: AI that corrects – or even writes – your articles or content for your social media platforms, and can even automate the posting process, complete with suggested images. These LLMs are also quickly becoming the new Dr. Google… and a lead generator for business. No joke – I recently had my first patient who came to me via ChatGPT. Small but important detail: the patient hadn’t asked for a recommendation. He had simply entered his symptoms and asked for a possible diagnosis. The answer? Dysautonomia. And then ChatGPT mentioned me as an expert in the field – which, to be fair, I am.

Yet another use of AI is the rise of personal assistants (like the one in the film Her) that handle your daily tasks: offering personalised health reminders, tracking your fitness goals – and soon, even booking your next osteopath or annual dentist appointment in that one free slot in your calendar will be just another task it handles for you.

Anything and everything will be AI-integrated – booking systems, calendars, communication tools – all seamlessly connected behind the scenes. Even your toothbrush. Oh, but that already exists. Yes, there are already toothbrushes powered by AI built to tell you how to brush your teeth. Maybe soon there’ll be one in your toilet to check if you’ve wiped properly – OK, I made that last one up, but I think you get the gist. In business, it isn’t much different. AI agents are now actively used for everything from process improvements and real-time production line optimisation in factories, to screening job applicants, handling employee terminations, and even serving as official board members. Governments, too, are turning to AI – from helping in the drafting of new legislation to analysing existing policy. And in the judicial sphere, who knows – AI judges might one day find a place on the bench, alongside their human counterparts… and who knows, one day maybe even fully replacing them.

So I repeat: where are we going with all this? There isn’t a long-term vision for humanity. So instead of being pulled forward, we are pushed in a direction that, to me, is best described as a “black hole”. The unknowable – and that’s the real danger – that, because we never thought about where we want to go or what we need, we’ll arrive somewhere entirely unintended – simply because we never asked.

It’s a black hole also because, for most people, all these emerging technologies aren’t bringing peace of mind. Quite the opposite – they amplify existing fears and increase uncertainty and unpredictability. Instead of delivering the clarity, control and ease which we are so often promised that they will provide, these emerging technologies all too often end up feeding confusion, fragmentation and anxiety – the very opposite of what technology should deliver in order to empower us and support greater human flourishing and thriving.
With fear and anxiety rising, and new technologies crashing over us like a tsunami, we don’t stop to think about the future – or about the consequences of our visionless existence, which has grown too vast or too frightening to comprehend. Instead of seeing where we’re actually going with all this – and saying “Stop!”, to create a long-term vision and futurize ourselves – we turn a blind eye, hoping the problem will go away, and reach for distractions to soothe the rising anxiety.

Distractions like binge-watching TV shows, doomscrolling and liking cute videos of cats chasing their tails, ranking potato crisps by crunch sound, obsessively checking notifications, or endlessly tweaking our digital avatars – and losing ourselves in the promised land the virtual world offers. Because, why face the real world when we can have the perfect body, job, home and family in a virtual one – a life where everything feels ideal – allowing us to live in blissful ignorance as we drift closer and closer to the black hole, burying our heads ever deeper into our screens.

I’m not exaggerating. I think seeing how I get hundreds of likes when I post a film about a fox that roams the garden outside my window of my practice, while posts or articles – like this one – things that truly matter, things you or we need to think about and act upon – seem “too much like hard work” and only get a handful of likes. Because it’s hard to face the world we live in. Change is difficult, and it’s difficult to change – especially to change ourselves. We are wired to avoid pain and wired for stability, predictability, familiarity and energy efficiency. Our brains tend to stick to familiar patterns – even when they no longer serve us – because real change requires both behavioural shifts and supportive environments to take root.

When I have real conversations about this, there’s often a visible discomfort – a flicker of unease. Many I speak to are worried about the future, or at least some aspect of it, and feel disempowered. The problem seems vast, and we too small to make any real difference. “I can’t change the world” – it’s the unspoken limiting belief behind the discomfort – a belief that feels, in itself, like a meagre excuse.

The only people I’ve spoken to who aren’t worried are my futurist colleagues. We’re an optimistic bunch with a protopian mindset – not too idealistic, not cynical, but focused on continuous, purposeful improvement. We’ve been to the future – so to speak – and we bring good news: it can be a great place – a place where you, we, the planet, and the economy can flourish and thrive.

But our scenarios, messages, and ideas – aimed at shaping a future we’d actually want to wake up to – haven’t gained momentum yet. The call to engage in serious introspection, to do some in-the-box thinking and purposeful designing, to step into conscious evolution and change, still struggles to break through.

But the time is nigh to stop the rat race and decide where we want to go – where we need to go – to have what we are ultimately seeking. You could even say that what we are ultimately seeking in the distractions is a feeling of wellbeing, ease, meaning, and purpose. We need to design our future from, with, and on purpose… we need to futurize ourselves. That’s what we’re not doing right now. Or at least, not enough of us are. And so, biologically, we drift forward on autopilot – que sera, sera – with no clear direction for ourselves, and thus for technology, which – like the Big Bang – spreads in all directions, proliferating without limits, scattering our attention and sense of direction like stardust across a zillion possibilities.

Physically and psychologically – as body and mind are interconnected – this scattering is not harmless. Research shows that our minds, wired for coherence and focus, are now overwhelmed by choice, fragmented by distraction, and adrift without meaning. Without a clear vision for ourselves – for humanity – technology developers lack a direction in which to steer their inventions, and without that, have no boundaries. The consequences for humanity are immense.

Reflecting on this more intensely over the past few weeks, I’ve come to think that perhaps the most important question of our time – the one we’re not asking – is this: What would an ideal day be like in 100 years’ time? Because if we don’t have an answer to that – if we don’t have a clear, long-term, human-centred vision – then AI and other technological advances cannot truly serve us. They become loose cannons that, instead of improving our lives, accelerate us towards the black hole, increasing the unease we’re already feeling.

Our health and healthcare systems, business strategies, governmental decisions – every aspect of life, living economies, financial systems, even planetary health – are influenced by the vision we hold, or fail to hold, for our future. Without a clear direction, each new innovation propels us forward at extraordinary speed. But without a DNA for our future, without a bigger picture we can express in different ways, we will continue to be eroded through technology, rather than being empowered by it as a tool to serve human flourishing and thriving.

That’s why asking “What would an ideal day be like in 100 years’ time?” isn’t a luxury – it’s essential. It’s a question that touches every aspect of our lives. It gives us a stage to align ourselves – that is our behaviour – and create a direction to steer technology – our environment – towards a future where humanity flourishes rather than fades. At its core, it’s a question about our survival.

For context, I’ve posed this 100-year vision question to some of my patients, and the first reaction I often get is: “But I won’t be here in 100 years.” Were you thinking the same? If so, take a moment to reflect on that thought. Because the question isn’t about “me” – it’s about the “us”. It’s about what we need. And that includes you.

Beyond that, the fact is: some people alive today will still be living in 2125. That may include your children or grandchildren – and, who knows, maybe even you. Billions are being invested in longevity research, and thanks to AI, biotechnology, and regenerative medicine, there is a real possibility that lifespan and healthspan will increase significantly in the coming decades.

Psychologically, the 100-year timeframe also matters. If I say 10 years, you know it may not be realistic for deep transformation. If I say 1,000 years, your brain likely dismisses it as fantasy. But 100 years – that’s a sweet spot. It’s just far enough to be visionary, and close enough to still feel real. And when you take the 100-year question seriously, you may realise something important: it’s not just about the future – it’s about what you want now, what you’ve always wanted, and what you will continue to want.
So I invite you to take a moment to reflect: What would an ideal day be like in 2125? What would you want to feel, what would you aspire to experience, and what would you truly need in a fast-changing world? I’m not asking you to think about wealth or status, or what you want to own – but about what you need to exist, to flourish, and to thrive in a fast-changing world.

Because you matter. Each one of us matters. The future is not built by a single heroic act, but by the quiet, consistent efforts of many. We are not isolated dots on a timeline – we are holons: whole in ourselves and simultaneously part of something greater. When we take action, reflect, and course-correct – even in small ways – we influence the whole. And when we support each other in facing uncomfortable truths, in overcoming our biases, and in daring to imagine better, we create momentum. That’s how change becomes possible.

The future is not something that just happens to us – it is shaped by all our choices, decisions, and actions. It’s the story we tell“Change your story, change y’our future” is not without reason the subtitle of my book The Futures Effect. Take the lead, set the stage – and the missing vision and roadmap for y’our future will begin to emerge. It will give us direction, serve us, and give AI – and all other emerging technologies – the guidance they need to truly augment our journey.

Let’s envision what an ideal day could be like, and futurize ourselves on purpose. Let’s define what we truly need – no matter the scenario that unfolds – so that when the future becomes the present, we can be proud of what we chose to do today.

Be good to you, be good to y’our future.

Tom
The Fitfull Futures Explorer