Advances in computing and collective participation are reviving ambitious efforts to build large-scale simulations that model complex global systems to better anticipate the future.
📊 Quick Facts
| Type | Interview |
| Author | Alexandre GAIN |
| Published | March 24, 2026 |
| Source | Visit Source |
| Location(s) | The KOLB Library |
🖼️ Illustrations
📝 Abstract
[Copied from YouTube video description] This video is from IFTF's 2014 Ten-Year Forecast, which explores 10 bold projects that have the potential to change the world over the next 10 years. Read more about the projects here: http://www.iftf.org/tyf2014 Simulations are models of reality that help people prepare for possible futures, and the most ambitious of these attempt to model large complex systems—even entire economies or ecosystems. Such simulations can be performed as live action. They can be housed in a single device. Or they can emerge from a network of connected agents and computational technologies. From the dawn of systems dynamics to the WORLD3 model used in Limits to Growth and on to the current rise of present-day predictive modeling efforts, the interest in building large-scale global simulations seems to rise and fall over time. But as we reach a new threshold of computing power and a new capacity to marshal the resources of the crowd, perhaps we're ready for a renaissance.