The team at Third Wave have come up with an interesting and fun tool, the Futures Scenario Generator. It’s an exploration of some of the possibilities of synthetic media, a field they’ve been exploring for a little while now, and something meant for actual use, since “sometimes, you want to quickly broaden your (future) horizon, like in a conversation, a workshop, or a writing project.” Both the article above and Synthetic Media — What it is and why it’s important are good reads to start getting a grasp on this kind of use of AI. One example from the generator:
It’s the year 2030 and the city of Montréal is finally waking up after a long slumber. Structurally, everything has changed. Caught between the global warming crisis and a lack of private investment, the city is making a bold move. It's installing solar panels on every single building, even the tallest of buildings. Most of that energy is then stored in huge batteries - located inside almost every building - that can be used to power transportation, manufacturing, and even residential blocks. The AI powered city of tomorrow saves water, uses 100% free energy, and creates huge networks of connected vehicles. In cities, excessive property values can become traps. The public realm was dominated by cars, but in this future Montréal, it's the people who drive again. Streets are transformed: they are calmer and easier to cross, and sprinkled with benches, pocket parks and even beaches. Montréal becomes the world capital of electric bikes and scooters, the city where everyone can easily access an AI system (powered by advanced voice recognition).