Institute For The Future

Helping governments prepare for the unintended consequences of new technology

IFTF developed a playbook for government officials engaged in creating, updating, or regulating technology.

Governments and leaders are required to regulate change while mitigating risk, so IFTF's Governance Futures Lab developed this decision-making guide for them. We live in a world where technologies are transforming faster than we can keep up, and anticipatory governance is crucial in order to safeguard against both the intended and unintended effects of technological advances.

Can governments avoid unintended consequences by forecasting them in advance?

Through this playbook you'll learn how to assess ethical dilemmas, anticipate and mitigate unintended consequences of your decisions, and act to maximize positive outcomes for most people.

Many organizations and agencies across the civic sector have used IFTF’s Ethical OS Toolkit, including the California state legislature, the United States Conference of Mayors, and other local governments, to bring more foresight and long-term thinking to policy decisions about new technologies. IFTF Governance Futures Lab developed this Playbook for Ethical Tech Governance in response to high demand from governments and with funding from the Tingari-Silverton Foundation. A key objective of this Playbook is to enable civil servants to resolve ethical dilemmas arising from the constantly evolving landscape of new technology and new social and political dynamics and help government leaders make better long-term decisions by increasing their foresight capacity, enabling them to create regulatory structures that anticipate the worst effects of technology before they occur.

Put the Playbook into Action

We are offering hands-on custom workshops for people or agencies looking to:

• Make regulatory processes more anticipatory so that you are not reactive.
• Develop a structure and practice for ethical decision-making
• Enhance your capacity for anticipatory governance
• Uphold civil service values and ethics while adapting to changing socio-technological environments
• Engage your staff in discussions regarding the long-term and unintended consequences of your policy and regulatory decisions.

Email John Clamme at [email protected] for information on how to download the Playbook or schedule a workshop for your team.

Download the full Playbook for Ethical Tech Governance here.

What can you expect from these workshops? 

Throughout the course, you will learn about five "Risk Zones" that are likely to present challenges over the next decade. 

You will:

• Uncover ethical dilemmas within each Risk Zone
• Utilize IFTF's decision-tree to explore possible positive outcomes and negative consequences of your actions
• Prepare for unintended negative consequences and take appropriate measures to protect against them
• Develop anticipatory governance skills to mitigate social harm before it occurs

Offerings:

1. 1-2 hour talk ($5,000)

2. ½ day workshop / 1 session of 3-4 hours: Playbook Toolkit ($28,000)

This offering includes:

• An introduction to foresight and futures thinking, with a focus on anticipatory governance and regulatory frameworks
• Overview of the Playbook, risk zones, and scenarios
• Small group breakout sessions with IFTF facilitators to practice using the tools (Decision Tree and additional prompt questions)

3. 1.5 day workshop / 2 days of 5 hours: Deep Dive ($65,000)

This offering includes:

• An introduction to foresight and futures thinking, with a focus on anticipatory governance
  and regulatory frameworks
• Overview of the Playbook, risk zones, and scenarios
• Deep dive into 2 risk zones
• Feedback and input from facilitators during a walk through of the Decision Tree
• Practice using the tools in your own work with feedback and input from facilitators