| name | fut - Future Analysis |
| description | Systematically explore what the future looks like for any trend, technology, decision, or domain across multiple timeframes. |
| output | {"format":"prose"} |
Future Analysis
Input: $ARGUMENTS
Step 1: DEFINE THE SCOPE
What future are we exploring?
SUBJECT: [what we're projecting forward]
CURRENT STATE: [where things are now]
KEY DRIVERS: [what forces are shaping this]
Step 2: TIMEFRAME ANALYSIS
Analyze across four timeframes:
Near-term (1-2 years)
- What is already in motion that will arrive?
- What trends are accelerating?
- What is the default trajectory if nothing changes?
- What scheduled events or deadlines matter?
Medium-term (3-7 years)
- What emerging trends reach maturity?
- What second-order effects of current changes appear?
- What new capabilities become available?
- What current assumptions break?
Long-term (8-20 years)
- What paradigm shifts are plausible?
- What seems impossible now but follows from current trajectories?
- What generational changes take effect?
- What infrastructure is built or decays?
Far-term (20+ years)
- What does the transformed landscape look like?
- What is the range of possible worlds?
- What would people in this future find surprising about today?
Step 3: SCENARIO GENERATION
Generate three distinct futures:
Scenario A: Continuation
What happens if current trends continue without disruption?
Scenario B: Acceleration
What happens if the key driver intensifies dramatically?
Scenario C: Disruption
What happens if an unexpected force changes the trajectory?
For each scenario:
- What changes?
- Who wins? Who loses?
- What opportunities emerge?
- What threats emerge?
- What becomes obsolete?
Step 4: ROBUSTNESS CHECK
- What is true in ALL three scenarios? (High-confidence predictions)
- What varies between scenarios? (Key uncertainties)
- What signals would tell you which scenario is unfolding? (Early indicators)
- What actions are good in all scenarios? (Robust strategies)
Step 5: IMPLICATIONS
FUTURE ANALYSIS:
Subject: [what was analyzed]
High-confidence predictions (true in all scenarios):
- [prediction 1]
- [prediction 2]
Key uncertainties:
- [uncertainty 1] — watch for: [signal]
- [uncertainty 2] — watch for: [signal]
Opportunities:
- [opportunity that exists in most scenarios]
Threats:
- [threat that exists in most scenarios]
Robust actions (good regardless of which future unfolds):
1. [action]
2. [action]
The future most people aren't expecting: [the scenario or element that would most surprise the current consensus]
Integration
Use with:
/utp -> Explore the best-case future in depth/dys -> Explore the worst-case future in depth/snp -> Scenario planning for uncertainty/fss -> Future state search/prm -> Pre-mortem on future plans
