The AI Futures We Live in

We talk about AI like it’s inevitable — a force of nature reshaping how we work, decide, and live. But read closely, and you’ll find something stranger: the future isn’t just happening. It’s being imagined, argued over, and sold.

Every claim about where AI is going — who it will help, what it will change, why it matters — is part of a bigger story. And those stories are shaping the decisions being made right now.

What I Did (and Why It Matters)

Over the past year, I analyzed more than 400 statements from Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review that speculated about the future of AI.

These weren’t technical forecasts. They were visions — snapshots of how people think AI will transform business, work, and society.

Some were optimistic. Others were anxious. Many were both. What they had in common was that they didn’t just describe the future — they helped define what kinds of futures were imaginable, desirable, or dangerous.

The Five Visions of AI

Each vision captures a different emotional logic — blending hope and risk, power and fragility.

Why These Visions Matter

These visions aren’t just noise. They play real roles in how the future is shaped.

• Some spark imagination — keeping things open-ended and creative.
• Others push for action — urging companies to transform or fall behind.
• Some slow things down — pointing out risks and calling for caution.
• And some make change feel inevitable — normalizing AI as just the next tool in the box.

That mix — between hype and hesitation, ambition and anxiety — is what keeps the story of AI alive. We don’t just predict the future. We negotiate it.

What Future Are You Preparing For?

None of these visions are set in stone. They compete. They collide. And some will quietly fade away. I am working on understanding them more through further analysis. Meanwhile, I hope these types help you make sense of the future that is emerging just a little bit