Imagining better futures in the age of AI
Education Futures · Svenia Busson & Laurent Jolie
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Show Notes
Are we really living through the worst moment in history, or are we actually in the best position ever to build a better future?
In this episode of Education Futures, we welcome Beatrice Erkers, Existential Hope Program Manager at the Foresight Institute.
Beatrice works at the intersection of technology, long-term thinking, and societal progress, helping people move beyond doom narratives to imagine desirable futures — and take responsibility for shaping them.
Together, we explore:
- Why pessimism about the future is historically misguided
- How “existential hope” differs from blind optimism
- Why agency matters more than prediction when thinking about the future
- How world-building and scenario planning can help rethink education
- Why education may be the most powerful lever for long-term change
- How AI could make learning more humane — not less
- What skills and mindsets future education systems should prioritize
- Why plural, diverse futures matter more than one “perfect” vision
Beatrice also shares inspiring examples — from AI tutoring models like Alpha School to progress-oriented movements — and explains why hope is inseparable from action.
This episode is an invitation to stop asking “what will happen?”
and start asking “what future do we want to build — and how do we begin now?”