Epistemic Futures Atlas — seeds

Scenarios

Imaginaries and counter-imaginaries of sustainable AI futures — thinking tools to help decision-makers visualize what is possible and what must be avoided. These entries seed SAIF's Epistemic Futures Atlas, which will grow through the project's futures work and co-creation labs.

• Imaginary · 2040

  Convivial computation

  AI as a modest tool in service of local flourishing: small models, community governance, and computing that lives within regional energy and water budgets.

• Counter-imaginary · 2035

  The efficiency trap

  A counter-imaginary: every model gets greener per token, while total ecological impact grows without bound. Sustainability reporting becomes a ritual that changes nothing.

• Imaginary · 2045

  More-than-human standing

  Ecosystems hold formal standing in AI governance: impact assessments must speak for rivers, forests, and future generations, and AI systems are audited against their flourishing.