Connecting the (Distant) Dots: From Design to Automated Foresight, Through Design Futures

Abstract: This reflexive essay critically examines the emergent confluence of generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) and Design Futures through a multidisciplinary, year-long practice engaging strategic foresight and Design Research methodologies. The authors explore how Gen-AI could reshape traditional design futures practices. The authors situate these developments within historical and cultural contexts, highlighting the pervasive cultural lag in AI adoption and contrasting techno-optimist and techno-pessimist narratives. The essay foregrounds the ambivalent reception of AI in design-related foresight discourse. Their study advances a hybrid methodology that integrates human critical judgment (“Trained Judgement”) with automated foresight outputs, emphasizing the dialectical transformation of AI-generated “hallucinations” into “hypercreative” signals that enrich futures thinking beyond traditional methods. Ultimately, the essay posits that rather than supplanting human ingenuity, Gen-AI serves as a provocative tool for expanding foresight, creativity, and methodological rigor, underscoring the continuing indispensability of human agency in navigating complex, uncertain futures. Practical Implications: The authors present a reflexive essay based on a year-long multidisciplinary practice about how Gen-AI came to generate new directions in Design Futures and beyond. At the practical implementation level, the study pragmatically advises industry stakeholders to adopt these insights for eco-conscious and inclusive strategic planning. Keywords: Design Futures; Automated Foresight; Strategic Design; Mixed Methods; Reflexive Practices.