Automating Liminality

Is technological unemployment really necessary or even viable? That’s a much bigger question than I currently have time to research. However, my co-author, Marco Bevolo, and I begin to address the issues in our latest essay, Automating Liminality in Foresight Practice.

In it, we explore how “hallucinations” brought on by AI could be a catalyst for unmatched innovation in the field of futures and foresight research. First, we give a historical review of artificial intelligence (AI) and its changing function, with a special emphasis on large language models (LLMs) and their potential to open up new avenues for knowledge generation in the future. The resistance to LLMs within the field of foresight is then outlined, and three ways that these tools can aid in the creation of liminal spaces are suggested: the simplification of the foresight process for a wider demographic, the inherent otherness of LLMs, and their ability to synthesize disparate data.

We then outline a process of thinking modes to aid people who use LLMs in thinking more clearly about how to value their output. This paper begins to address ways to maintain, even progress human dignity amid advancing AI.

Click to read more: Automating Liminality in Foresight Practice by Dennis Draeger and Marco Bevolo * Journal of Futures Studies: https://jfsdigital.org/automating-liminality-in-foresight-practice/