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This is part of a recurring series of posts you can read where I offer some scans of our shared ecosystem intended to be helpful to busy social workers and academics who are interested in this type of exploration. I’m not intending to do comprehensive analysis of any particular issue with these scans – merely catching unusual things of interest I find that stoke my imagination. The goal is to simply assist you in building “signal awareness” and do my part by offering my own for your consideration. You can see other recent efforts here. ..and for fun…some older notes here (aw, remember when we were all on Twitter together…those were the days…).
November of 2025 feels like another world somehow, doesn’t it? There are intense changes (and generally worrisome ones) in our practice ecosystem in what feels like every direction. Note that inclusion of any particular piece doesn’t imply endorsement – I’m merely scanning and noting what feels most relevant and interesting.
General Signals and Trends
AI to the Rescue In Higher Education: the Related Changing Student, Peer and Professor Relationships – keeping up with all that is happening in higher education and AI is a full time pursuit. This piece is helpful to get a quick read on many important dynamics. Here’s another take on how college students have fundamentally already changed and adapted to the presence of AI in their own scholarly ecosystems. (Note: Bonus article – A critical review of GenAI policies in higher education.)
The Dark Ages are Back – important and compelling piece on emergent dangers regarding restrictions on academic freedom. Here’s another piece related to futures of academic publishing which explores additional content in this space. And another funny/scary piece about an academic conference where all papers presented were written and reviewed by AI.
Amy Webb and her virtuoso efforts to document (and imagine) tech trends has her 2025 trends report out. Generally it takes some dedicated time to work one’s way through these reports – big pay off in terms of thoughtful and interesting possibilities. I’ve written a few reviews of Amy’s books on this blog before. If you’ve never dived in – check out my reviews of The Big Nine as well as The Genesis Machine.
Valuable overview of the “AI Megasystem Problem” and why we need to pay attention. Additionally, here’s an important paper regarding pushing back on the “inevitability narrative” regarding AI. I’m including the eye-candy graphic from their work below here. (P.S. Always like to note that I’m not
“anti-AI” but I do think we haven’t yet done the necessary work to make it as safe or useful or ecologically sound as we need.)
Important piece answering the question: Is the number of natural disasters increasing? (The answer is yes…but important to see/use data to respond.). This is a great website if you’ve never seen it. Can lead to some serious exploring! Have long advocated for social workers across the board to prepare for disaster response as a core set of competencies for graduate education. This is no longer an “occasional” set of engagements for our profession…and it is unlikely to shift course at this moment in history or the foreseeable future.
Climate maps show a transformed United States and considers impending possibilities for climate migration. (This piece is from 2020 but still useful/relevant.). Here’s a few more recent pieces related to this topic and essential for anticipatory social work to imagine/consider: Climate migration is on the rise around the world, Global climate migration is a story of who and not just how many, OECD 2025 report on the outlook for international migration linked to various issues.
Futures of Social Issues
Who owns your face(print)? This issue is an evergreen flashpoint issue that may lead to an array of other personal/political issues to come. I closely watch for evolution in this space. Here’s a new piece on what is happening in Denmark to assure personal ownership of one’s own face!
Are we starting to form attachments and even bonds to AI? How does this possibility fit with human psychology and the times we live in. Here’s a podcast (led by some wonderful social workers!) that explores this. Worth a listen. Here’s a related story about one devastating impact of using Chat GPT as one’s companion – and the absolute risks inherent in these technologies that are under-researched and urgently needing attention. Additional exploration of futures of human connections, and one more piece exploring human connections with AI. (Bonus piece invoking prior writings of Oliver Sacks on the ways in which technology might evolve in our shared world AND overview of a new forthcoming book on “Artificial Humanities”).
Future anxiety, depression and stress among undergraduate students: Psychological flexibility and emotional regulation as mediators. Interesting to see emerging literature which seeks to understand how young people perceive and orient to the future. Good read – important implications. The future(s) of mental health is a real and dynamic space.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have ecently published a new “Blueprint for a National Prevention Infrastructure for Mental Health, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders” piece. Prevention, as much as any other area of social work practice, has some of the strongest natural futures thinking “baked in.” It endeavors to imagine pathways away from future social issues by creating alternative avenues for individuals, families and communities. While this piece isn’t explicitly “foresight”-based, it has a lot to offer as far as imaginative fodder for futures thinking across social work. This is an important read – you can download a free pdf of the whole thing at the link.
Thought provoking piece related to the futures of death and how humans deal with it.
Futures of Social Change
TED Conversation between author/activist adrienne maree brown and activist Baratunde Thurston on “How to Imagine a Better Future for Democracy.”
I am in love with this piece (and the related academic article linked therein) on the power of collaborative imagination. All great social change began with loving imagination…we are at a critical time to live and breathe this lesson. This means going beyond the easy frames of utopia or dystopia. Imagination means pushing beyond our assumptions and growing our collective capacity. Excellent piece.
Artists nationwide unite against the Trump administration. (Futures/foresight insider tip: If you want to see what is coming ALWAYS watch the artists…)
The 3.5% rule: How a small minority can change the world. This piece has been discussed a fair amount recently. Important for understanding the past, present and futures of social change.
I’m increasingly motivated by and deepening my learning about the concept of intergenerational fairness/justice. Here’s a recent annotated bibliography I put together on that topic. To that end, here’s a beautiful effort produced by the European Commission on this topic – here’s their emerging strategy overview. Additionally, new article out from the Journal of Futures Studies on this same issue.
Here’s a great new tool and set of resources put together by an outfit called “Good Shifts.” this tool is intended to help facilitate underling patterns of understanding/conflict when attempting to work together for civic progress. Overview here and tool here: Surfacing Worldviews of Change
Futures of Social Welfare
Unicef’s new primer specifically related to foresight and the futures of children’s well-being. It specifically focuses on: (from their report) Child-related foresight focuses on the development and improvement of systems that are essential for children to thrive, such as health, education, climate and environment; Youth-led foresight, where young adults design and undertake their own foresight studies on
topics that are important to them: UNICEF has supported a number of youth foresight initiatives
over the past three years, with very positive results and; Children’s involvement and participation in foresight work, as part of their right to express their views and to be heard, has a positive impact on the quality and outcomes of any foresight exercise.
Meet the “Unbreaking” website which is currently set up to tally how the current administration is shaping social welfare policy in a number of areas of great importance to social workers.
New report: A Matter of Survival: Organizing to Meet Unmet Needs and Build Power in Times of Crisis – from the Kairos Center. From the website: A Matter of Survival: Organizing to Meet Unmet Needs and Build Power in Times of Crisis is a bold and urgent report that unearths the extraordinary networks of care that have sustained communities through the pandemic and beyond. Drawing on insights from more than 40 leaders and 35 grassroots organizations, the report offers a framework for “projects of survival,” as well as recommendations for activism, organizing, social justice ministry and philanthropy today. Both a roadmap and a rallying cry, the report reveals how survival organizing can transform into a powerful movement for systemic change. Indeed, as political extremism threatens democracy and economic inequality deepens, amid climate breakdown and escalating violence, this report challenges us to see beyond mere survival—to reclaim power, mobilize communities, and demand a just future for all.
Annual report on the “health” of the non-profit sector where the majority of social services in the United States are conducted (many through government contracts). This organization has a dashboard related to financial insecurity of the nonprofit workforce which you can see here. Here’s their ongoing policy feed that shows what is happening relative to national policy impacting the non-profit sector during times of immense strain.
New edition of journal Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership and Governance dedicated to the topic of “Social Innovation, Social Enterprise, and Social Entrepreneurship in Social Work and Human Services.” From the editors: “The global practice of social work has an opportunity to lean into creativity, collective action, and community-rooted problem-solving to position the field to lead in designing equitable, sustainable, people-centered solutions. This issue brings together scholarship that spans history, practice, and global perspectives and highlights SE/SI as a vital and growing sub-field of social work research and practice.”
Futures of Equity and Isms
A Brooklyn Afrofuturist Art Exhibit Explores a New World with Reparations – great write up regarding project led by our friends at Intelligent Mischief.
Beautiful piece considering mindfulness and racism/anti-racism work. Here’s a brief infographic of this work.
Futures of Professions
Here’s the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report for 2025. Covers professional as well as non-professional work. Quick take: Social work and related professions are expected to grow. Worth a dive. Here’s an additional blog post of interest exploring the changes in the workforce to come.
Foresight Information, Tools and/or Information
TFSX write up on their efforts (and takeaways) for imagining futures of higher education.
Did you get a chance to see the recent RWJF “Unscripted” series in which five futurists (including me!) got a chance to explore together how the future can and must be democratized? It was a fantastic, rewarding and interesting effort – please visit and come check it out!
A delightful recent piece about the power and utility of writing a letter to your future self.
2025 Strategic Foresight Report from the European Commission – which “presents “Resilience 2.0″, an approach to ensuring the EU thrives in turbulent times through 2040 and beyond. It builds on the recent European Preparedness Strategy and recognises the need to scan proactively not only for emerging risks but also for future opportunities, and to consider unfamiliar or even hard-to-imagine scenarios.” In other words, here’s what it looks like when a group of countries get together and engage in foresight for shared benefit.
Atlantic Council’s global foresight survey results from 2025. Here’s what a cross-section of world leaders think about the future of our shared world. Interesting read.
2025 Trend Report for Planners – great read with interesting insights intersecting with many things social workers care about. This is produced by the American Planning Association. Check out the table of contents for a quick look and dive in where you see fit!
Here’s the OECD’s “Strategic Foresight Toolkit for Resilient Public Policy.” By exploring 25 evidence-based potential disruptions across environmental, technological, economic, social, and geopolitical domains, the Strategic Foresight Toolkit for Resilient Public Policy helps anticipate challenges and opportunities that could reshape the policy landscape between 2030 and 2050. These disruptions are not predictions, but hypothetical future developments identified through extensive research, expert consultations, and workshops. The Strategic Foresight Toolkit features a five-step foresight process, guiding users to challenge assumptions, create scenarios, stress-test strategies, and develop actionable plans. It includes facilitation guides and case studies to support effective implementation. Each disruption is accompanied by insights on emerging trends, potential future impacts, and both immediate and long-term policy options to ensure resilience and preparedness. Designed for policymakers, public administrators, and foresight practitioners, this publication is designed to promote holistic, strategic and evidence-informed decision-making. It aims to support countries and organisations in using strategic foresight to design and prepare robust and adaptable public policies for a range of possible futures. With its practical methodology and forward-looking approach, the Strategic Foresight Toolkit is a vital resource for building sustainable, resilient, and effective public policies.
Interesting “meta” level look at the futures of foresight itself.
Overview of new book coming out in early 2026 called The Invention of the Future: A History of Cities in the Modern World. Seems an inspiring and thought provoking read. From the publisher: history as well as a philosophical examination of humanity’s belief in progress and a better future as demonstrated in the spread of urbanization. Carvalho, professor at Harvard, author of Porous City: A Cultural History of Rio de Janeiro, writes that just a few centuries ago everyone believed that divine forces governed the universe, everything worth knowing was known, and the future would resemble the past. Matters changed during the Renaissance. As a historian put it, “The future would be different from the past, and better, to boot.” By the mid-18th century, the expectation that humans had the capacity to make new futures and shape their own destinies had taken hold. Carvalho opens with the catastrophic 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent rebuilding under autocratic guidance, partly frustrated (as usual) by property owners and tradition but which resulted in features heralding a new vision of progress: fewer monumental structures, wider streets (for fire prevention, not traffic), and an obsession with a grid layout as opposed to the old tangled pattern of streets. The iconic 1811 Manhattan grid established an even more radically modern relationship between planning and urban life: less religiously charged, and more open-ended. New York’s transformation in the 19th century exemplified transatlantic urbanization as a laboratory for social stratification, identity formation, and creativity. That was not part of the plan, but planners always underestimated how much cities would evolve within a few generations. Most readers recall the brutal Haussmann mid-19th-century transformation of Paris and L’Enfant’s dazzling 1791 plan for Washington D.C., but Carvalho, a Brazilian, pays more than usual attention to great South American cities as he delves into urbanization across the world from Delhi to Berlin to San Francisco and across Africa. Prediction is a mug’s game, so Carvalho confines his conclusion to heralding the long-delayed death of car worship and noting the movement of imaginative urban development to Asia.
Thoughtful piece by one of the luminaries in foresight history, Dr. Riel Miller, who suggests that while we can strengthen our capacity to respond to and co-create the futures we want, true uncertainty cannot be navigated or managed.
Six principles for designing public experiences about the future – useful overview!
Social Work Futures 