In a world where algorithms write symphonies and chatbots offer therapy, AI literacy isn’t a luxury: it’s a necessity.
Sure we need to be teaching what AI is…and also we desperately need to make space for young people to imagine what AI could do.
This is where Futures Literacy is perfectly placed for the moment we are in.
Wondering what it is?
UNESCO’s definition is a great starting place:
“Futures Literacy helps people understand why and how we use the future to prepare, plan, and interact with the complexity and novelty of our societies.”
To me, Futures Literacy is moving away from just making the throw away comment that is ‘I Wonder,’ and moving to a strategic, joyful, and social experience where we wonder…together.
When it comes to today’s landscape where AI is already a massively persuasive force, the question becomes: are we teaching tech…or are we teaching ourselves how to shape tomorrow?
Futures Literacy invites attunement, not reaction.
In a landscape increasingly driven by algorithmic suggestions, attunement helps us all practice pausing. It centers co-sensing over problem-solving and prioritizes reflection over urgency.
Futures thinking develops stances, not scripts.
Instead of pre-packaged answers, Futures Literacy nurtures intellectual postures: “attuned curiosity,” “playful humility,” and “relational openness” (I say more inside my free mini guide “Stances for Aspiring Futurists”). These are the very dispositions that serve as our ‘fog lights,’ during these times of rapid change.
Yes, creativity can be taught.
As outlined in my “Reframe: Signal to Scenario,” Futures Literacy teaches students to identify weak signals, challenge assumptions, and imagine alternative futures. This capacity to move from observing to imagining to co-creating is essential to ethical AI engagement. It’s not enough to know what generative AI can do; students must ask: What should it do? Who decides? What problems can we address in new ways?
We bring our assumptions into every space we enter.
Each of us sees change differently, each of us will dream of different futures. We need to remember the weight of the assumptions we carry. “How Do You See the Dog?” shows how perspectives influence interpretation. Similarly, how learners see adults reactions to AI—as threat, tool, companion, or mirror—will shape how they design, use, and critique it. Futures Literacy ensures those interpretations come with the caveat of conversation time to address assumptions.
Futures Literacy is not “one more thing to do.” It’s the lens through which we can co-author an answer to the question begging for our attention: what is education for?
Futures Literacy weaves together the past, with the art of noticing in the present, in order to arrive at a future that our ancestors would be proud of.
After you’ve experimented with finding signals and analyzing them you might want to try the art of scenario building.
Would you like to tinker with a few bots I’ve built for aspiring Futurists?
I’ve spoken a lot with others about Futures Literacy and the opportunity it brings us in education…if you’d like to listen to my thoughts in conversation form:
Interested in discussing the role Futures Literacy can play in your community?
Let’s connect:
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