Institute For The Future

Artifact from the Future: Species Design Symposium

In pursuit of the biggest bioengineering competition to date, the NovoGenesis Institute offers a million-dollar award for a new predator targeting exploding populations of cephalopods, primarily squid and calamari. Many cephalopods are now recognized to be among the planet’s most intelligent animals, but these opportunistic species are taking over weakened ocean ecosystems. With warmer oceans accelerating their life-cycles, and severe depletion of fisheries reducing their natural predators, cephalopods are threatening diversity and human marine activities, from mining to seasteading experiments.

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.