• Digital Twins and Doom Loops

    This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s January/February 2024 issue, a benefit of AAM membership. A brief guide to terms that may be popping up in your news feeds. Digital twins: digital models of objects, systems, or …
  • Welcome to TrendsWatch

    Standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a rapidly changing world. — Lauren Bacall This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s January/February 2024 issue, a benefit of AAM membership.   The theme of this year’s …
  • Decarbonizing the Future

    Adults keep saying we owe it to the young people to give them hope, but … I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. … I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to…
  • AI Adolescence

    Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks. —Stephen Hawking This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s January/February …
  • Culture Wars 2.0

    The net effect of loud, sensational clamor is to mute more quiet and temperate voices. —James Davison Hunter, Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s January/February 2024 issue, a …
  • ISO Stories about the Future of Voluntary Repatriation, Restitution, and Reparations 

    From the digital desk of Elizabeth Merritt, Vice President, Strategic Foresight and Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums: Museum people are natural storytellers, attuned to making sense of the world through words, images, …
  • Releasing TrendsWatch into the Wild

    Heads up! The 2023 edition of CFM’s annual forecasting report is now available as a free PDF download. TrendsWatch: Building the Post-pandemic World explores how museums can emerge from the past three years better and stronger, using …
  • Finding the Future at #AAM2023

    I’m taking a short break from prepping my materials for #AAM2023 to share a preview of what The Future will be up to in Denver. For me the conference starts on Thursday, May 18, with the latest iteration of the “Diving into Strategic …
  • Virgil Ortiz Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders

    Today on the blog, Pueblo artist Virgil Ortiz tells us about his use of futures-inflected storytelling to illuminate the past, as embodied in his latest project, Revolt 1680/2180: Runners + Gliders. If you are joining us in Denver for …
  • Repatriation, Restitution, and Reparations

    This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s January/February 2023 issue, a benefit of AAM membership.  “I greatly appreciate learning about cultural objects, ancient history, and global cultures different than my own, but …

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