Institute For The Future

Artifact from the Future: Microbial Weather Map

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, which neighborhood is healthiest of all?” Interactive mirrors are cool, but even cooler are the morning microbial weather maps that show you how your extended personal microbial ecosystem is likely to fare as you travel from your apartment to the rapid transit station, across the bay to your workplace, and then to the community garden at day’s end. Your weather forecaster may joke about the “depression front” that will move from north to south across the region today, but you decide your morning smoothie should include a cocktail of serotonin-stimulating bacteria. Drink up!

This Artifact from the Future is a snapshot of what might emerge if forecasts about the future materialize. It was developed as part of our 2012 Map of the Decade which offers an overview of the major forces that are shaping this century—and creating turbulence in the coming decade. It is an at-a-glance tool for exploring the fundamental question: What is possible?

Like all IFTF’s Artifacts from the Future, this image offers insights into future everyday lives and is intended to give you an immersive look at a possible future change.