I have a friend who is a futurist. He helps businesses analyze possible outcomes and adjust decision-making accordingly. They call it “strategic foresight.”
The other night, at an event he hosted, I participated in a group activity whereby we considered four possible futures before dividing into small groups for 45 minutes of brainstorming and drafting presentations based on our strategic approach to navigating the future we were randomly assigned.
It being 2025, someone in my group suggested we run our challenge through ChatGPT. They snapped a picture of the handout — which outlined specific steps our mini think tank should undertake — and then uploaded it for the AI to take a crack at.
A minute later the guy1 said “look what ChatGPT came up with” and passed around his phone. The app had addressed the key points and by all accounts did a tremendous job addressing the challenge. Forty-two minutes left and our task was complete. One of my teammates wrote out the LLM’s key takeaways on poster board while we chatted loosely around the edges of the topic. We had fundamentally abdicated our responsibility and the machine did a fine job in our stead. Good even, viewed from just the right angle.
One by one, the other tables rose to give their presentations. Each passed with flying colors. Their explanations were sensible, creative, interesting. They’d clearly put their heads together and dived deep. They developed nuanced solutions to the challenges at hand. I learned from each of them.
Then it was our turn.
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