In America, as many as half of today’s five-year-olds can expect to live to 100. The emerging field of anti-ageing biotech may push this even further. In the western world, we have traditionally looked to pensions as a model for how to fund our later lives. But ageing populations, changing labour markets and radical technologies may disrupt this model of retirement. Is it time for an overhaul?
The financial rails of the future are already being laid down. Large institutions like PayPal and Visa are actively adopting blockchain technology to reduce costs, speed up transactions and offer new financial products and services. In some countries, play-to-earn gaming is supplanting traditional jobs as a primary income.
At an increasing pace, our approach to work, wellness and lifestyle is rewired. The climate crisis also means that we will be ageing in a hotter, more scarce environment.
As these technological, environmental and social shifts continue, what mechanism will we need to support ourselves and our families as we get older?
<aside> 📎 A fictitious pensions company, “Greater Life”, wants to understand how their customers’ needs will change in the coming decades. They have approached you, a team of design strategists, to explore possible future scenarios around how their customers might fund later life. How can they be better prepared for what their customers might need? What might the future look like?
</aside>
Nobody knows what the world will look like in 2042, but we can use futures design methods to speculate. Signals of change are one tool that can help with our forecasting.
As described by IFTF, “Signals are evidence of the future that we can find in today’s world. They are concrete, compelling observations about how the world is changing that give us a hint at where we might be headed.”
Over the two days, we will:
<aside> 📡 Explore signals of change related to the brief
</aside>
<aside> 🔮 Forecast a future scenario, including products and services relating to the brief
</aside>
<aside> 👗 Prototype artefacts from the future to bring this scenario to life
</aside>
<aside> ☝️ Highlight consequences & recommendations for the client
</aside>
<aside> 🎤 Present your final output to the client (and industry expert) from Greater Life
</aside>