Episode 21

BANI vs. VUCA: The Art of Future-Proofing

Foreign Policy magazine Top 100 Global Thinker, Jamais Cascio, joins us to describe how we have transformed from the Defense Departments VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) to his concept of a BANI world (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, and Incomprehensible). He created the "BANI" model for working with chaotic futures, a concept now widely used around the world. James has appeared in multiple television and film documentaries and serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for the Future. 

In early 2009, he released his book, Hacking the Earth: Understanding the Consequences of Geoengineering. Jamais is with Paige and me today to discuss how we can transcend the limits of short-term thinking and see future possibilities. We dig into where the VUCA Framework came from and why we’ve moved from VUCA to the BANI model for working with chaotic futures. Jamais also shares why he decided to investigate the carbon footprint of a cheeseburger and what he discovered, and he gives a nod to Bart Simpson.

“Many eyes make all problems simpler.”

— Jamais Cascio

Episode Transcription

Transcript coming soon!