This newsletter from Near Future Laboratory explores the shift in creative leadership needed amidst rapid technological change, particularly with AI. It advocates for embracing speculation and “compass-like” thinking over traditional mapping approaches, highlighting tangible prototypes as tools for navigating an uncertain future. The newsletter also features links to resources on futures games, a discussion about AI’s impact on software development jobs, a demonstration of a new AI completion mode in Ghostwriter, a recap of design fiction conversations, and...

The Near Future Laboratory newsletter explores the evolving role of AI through research, prototyping, and speculative design fiction. It highlights a new "Artificial Intelligence Designed Fictions Research Studio," focusing on rapid ideation and creating tangible prototypes to envision potential AI-influenced futures. The newsletter also gets into themes of aging, exploring longevity beyond mere lifespan extension, and examines the impact of AI adoption within the design community, alongside reflections on creative writing, collaboration with AI, and the importance of...

In this week's dive into the imaginative realms of the Near Future Laboratory, we explore the vibrant intersections of AI, design, and speculative futures. Through lively events like fictional artifact exhibitions at Faraday’s Cage, insightful SideShows led by creative luminaries, and thought-provoking articles in our Discord community, I aim to challenge conventional foresight methods and celebrate a playful, curiosity-driven approach to designing the future. Whether it's digitizing the sense of smell or pondering the collaborative essence of AI,...

The future is coming in 24-hour increments, and it's difficult to keep up with the latest advancements in AI and generative visual storytelling. Nominalism may be ascendant as a way of comprehending the existential implications of these changes.

It was Week 19 of 2025 and this week's Near Future Laboratory newsletter dives into the core philosophy of prototyping – not just as a technical process, but as a fundamental way of thinking. It then pivots to explore themes of aging, speculative design, AI’s impact on creativity, and the surprisingly complex economics of creative work.

To summarize the newsletter, it subtly suggests that our obsession with efficiency and optimization can sometimes blind us to the deeper, more intuitive processes of discovery. It's a quiet reminder that true innovation isn’t just about solving problems, but about embracing the delightful uncertainty of exploring possibilities – a concept as old as humanity itself.