Microfuture – 2036 Foresight-Based Web Series
Microfuture E01 Bonus – Jan 10, 2036
Sylvie gives a tour of June’s room and the smartwear most at The Collab wear. Together, the set replaces a smart phone entirely. There’s no separate device to carry or lose, and you can navigate your digital life without the classic head‑down slump, using gestures or the pads instead.
Tenants are sold this tech as a perk, something they don’t have to spend their dwindling UBI on, and the connection to The Regulator is framed as a convenience. But, as we already know in 2026, nothing that’s “free” is ever actually free. That’s unlikely to be different in 2036.
Sylvie also shares more about her life before The Collab, mentioning Her Houses and the collapse of the insurance market. She praises The Collab’s “robust working and community spaces,” though it’s unclear what work means for someone living on UBI. (Review a broader Future of Housing insights report from this episode.)
The episode closes with a tease about diving deeper into The Regulator.
Summary of Week 2 here:
Microfuture Episode 2 – Jan 8, 2036
The future of UBI, housing and social media collide! Sylvie and her best friend, June, talk their Building and Content Contract because they elect UBI and live at The Collab.
Remember: No system, UBI included, is a utopic system. There will be winners and losers. No system benefits everyone. Use this episode to open up your imagination around the plausible futures of UBI.
Explore more here:
Microfuture E01 Bonus – Jan 3, 2036
Sylvie gives a tour of her new room at The Collab.
The contents of Sylvie’s room help us understand what Sylvie’s life is like in 2036.
As she describes the space, there seems to have been a collapse of both home owner’s insurance and college. It’s also jarring to see surveillance cameras inside her private room that are connected to The Regulator, who Sylvie has called her boss.
Surely we’ll hear more about some of topics introduced in Week 1 as we get farther into this 10-week series.
Specifically, Sylvie mentions changes in housing, insurance, college, surveillance/privacy, universal basic income (UBI), and agriculture.
Summary of Week 1 here:
Microfuture Episode 1- Jan 1, 2036
Meet Sylvie and The Regulator.
Your first glimpse of this future set in Wichita, KS in 2036.
Summary: Sylvie is living in a new building and introduces The Regulator, which she calls “that computer over there on the wall” who gets mad at her. Is this is AI? What does it mean he gets mad at her? And what’s this weird stuff going on?
She also mentions her best friend, June. Who it sounds like we’ll meet soon!
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about the web series, foresight or how to incorporate strategic foresight into your team or company? Have questions I didn’t answer, please reach out!
What is Microfuture?
Set in Wichita, KS in 2036 and told through Sylvie’s social media feed, this animated series explores what happens when familiar systems collapse, regulations lag, and convenience quietly becomes control.
Microfuture is a first‑of‑its‑kind foresight series that unfolds across ten weeks of episodes, each rooted in emerging trends already taking shape today.
New episodes are posted weekly from February 10 – April 14, 2026. Follow along on YouTube or LinkedIn.
What is a foresight-based animated web series?
Foresight helps us spot early signs of change and understand how today’s shifts could shape tomorrow. It looks beyond the immediate moment to identify emerging trends, signals of change, new behaviors, and evolving values. The goal is simple: prepare for uncertainty, see what’s coming, and make smarter decisions now so we’re ready for what’s next.
A foresight-based series uses these tools to develop a scenario. In this case, the scenario is broken up into a ten episode web series. The purpose of breaking it up is to make the future scenario feel less overwhelming.
This also gives the audience time to understand and absorb this new future, including discussing what opportunities exist or blind spots they aren’t anticipating.
Can you help my team plan for the future?
Yes! This web series is meant to demonstrate how foresight is a practical tool for strategic planning. Your team can use this series to open up conversations about what’s changing today and how it could impact your plans for the future.
If you’d like help planning or facilitating these conversations, I’d love to be involved! Please reach out and we can discuss specifics and build a plan that fits your budget, time and team.
What if your prediction is wrong?
The point of this series and foresight in general is not to predict the future. It’s to imagine one possible future. There are many systems that are in flux today that could shift and change next month, next year, and in ten years (or more).
When we take the time to immerse in one future, our brains will not only prepare for that future, but it will also become aware of other changes already happening today.
By bringing strategic foresight to your team or company, you will build a more resilient, creative and curious team that is not only prepared for the future, but actively watching for changes around them to embed in and use to stress test your long-term planning.
Signals of Change
Signals of change are early signs that something new is emerging, such as a shift in technology, policy, behavior, or culture. They’re often subtle, easy to overlook, and appear only once, but they hint at much larger changes ahead.
Emerging Trends
Emerging trends are early patterns that show where change is heading. They’re not fully formed, but they reveal shifts in values, behaviors, and approaches that are starting to take hold. Unlike established, data‑backed trends, emerging trends are still evolving, which is why many organizations overlook them.
Future Scenario
A foresight-based scenario is a grounded, imaginative look at how today’s signals, human behaviors, values and emerging trends could evolve into a future world. It’s not a prediction; it’s a tool for exploring possibilities, testing decisions, and understanding how different choices might shape what comes next.
Present-Day Bias
Present‑day bias is the tendency to focus on what’s happening right now and assume the future will look the same. It makes us overlook early signals, underestimate long‑term change, and miss possibilities that don’t fit today’s reality.