Imagining better futures in the age of AI

Are we really living through the worst moment in history, or are we actually in the best position ever to build a better future?

In this episode of Education Futures, we welcome Beatrice Erkers, Existential Hope Program Manager at the Foresight Institute.

Beatrice works at the intersection of technology, long-term thinking, and societal progress, helping people move beyond doom narratives to imagine desirable futures — and take responsibility for shaping them.

Together, we explore:

• Why pessimism about the future is historically misguided
• How “existential hope” differs from blind optimism
• Why agency matters more than prediction when thinking about the future
• How world-building and scenario planning can help rethink education
• Why education may be the most powerful lever for long-term change
• How AI could make learning more humane — not less
• What skills and mindsets future education systems should prioritize
• Why plural, diverse futures matter more than one “perfect” vision

Beatrice also shares inspiring examples — from AI tutoring models like Alpha School to progress-oriented movements — and explains why hope is inseparable from action.

This episode is an invitation to stop asking “what will happen?”

and start asking “what future do we want to build — and how do we begin now?”