Puffy evening clouds drift through the last shades of summer. She’s tagging the fluffiest ones for her setup. Her daughter burrows deeper under the blanket on the other chair.
- Since you opened the terrace door, I can sense that you want something. What are we trading, princess?
- It feels like you already archived this conversation before it even started.
She tucks her daughter, curious about the confrontational strategy.
- Can you authenticate summer?
- We already had this conversation. What’s the problem? You’ve got a season pass for everything you share with your friends, don’t you?
- I know. But this is different.
- How so?
– We got lucky with the weather. The ambient capture from our scooters and taxi cams is insane. Simply cinematic.
- Good for you. We saw some parts of your trip to that rewilded coast. Everyone at school must be jealous of those shots.
- So, we pooled all our summer content to see if it has any value. One of my friends' fathers is a compute trader, and he'll broker micro-licensing for Summer Highlights B-roll if you authenticate.
- So you’re back to feeding the cluster feeds again? Be honest, would you rather get a beach spot tip from someone who’s actually been there or from a feed stuffed with generated leftovers?
- But I’m blocking the whole group. Anyway, without public content how can you even prove that summer even happened?
She plays unconvinced and hard to win, considering her options and leverage.
- Your life is not a shared media event.
- You know what? You should diversify your portfolio. More renewables.
She pauses, curious about the sudden shift.
- Into what?
- Empathy. It’s a renewable resource. You could invest in some, and sell subscriptions to the person you used to be…
She lets the silence cost them both something.
- Mum, check this.
Her system blooms with light as the contribution graph spikes so fast her mother’s eyebrows arch.
- If it works, I’ll be able to afford a morph suit by November.
She stops mid-sip, surprised.
- You want to become everyone else?
- I want to play all the characters without losing time for explaining my vision.
- I was dead sure you wanted to monetise for more trips, and that would be a distraction. You have some serious decisions to make very soon.
- I know. I’m not sure why anyone wants me to have everything figured out already.
– Honey, nobody has it figured out. Things change too fast. All we ask is that you know what you want to try next. Find your thing by trying many. That's where the best ideas hide.
Her fingers drum a dramatic pattern on the cup.
- Once you know your next move, you can own it. Authenticity is the one thing no one can fake. And no one does you better than you.
She nods consent. Her bracelet warms against her wrist as summer’s metadata starts negotiating its distribution.
- Okay. Your summer is getting ready for the spotlight.
- Thanks, mum. Everything needs an ID now.
– I get it, you hate the rules. But think, how else do you prove what’s real when half the world is synthetic? Until you’re eighteen, your consents and ephemerals are on us.
- I can’t wait to be an adult.
She sputters her flowtea, surprised by this confession, laughing.
- Be careful what you wish for.
- True. Still, some days I feel less like a person and more like a dataset in sneakers.
– You’re much more than that. But if you are one, you’re the most beautiful dataset I know.
Memories to build from this future:
1. Picture in detail the first time you helped your loved one make money from their hobby through micro-licensing on content clusters:
How did their confidence grow when algorithms revealed potential in their half-formed ideas?
Which skills did they learn when their content attracted algorithmic micro-audiences?
What happened when AI editors started bidding to improve their work for a revenue share?
Which unexpected industries noticed their work?
2. Try to recall the first quarter when your team started treating deadlines as AI-guided systems that adapted to collective enthusiasm:
How did productivity improve when projects could sense and surf team energy waves?
What happened when you stopped forcing work during forecasted enthusiasm slowdowns?
Which project exceeded expectations by launching when AI predicted the collective enthusiasm peak rather than on schedule?
How did this change your understanding of when teams are doing their best?
3. Think back to the first quarter when your company shifted from hoarding information to competing on contextual interpretation:
How did team dynamics change when raw data became freely available but insight remained scarce?
What happened when your competitive advantage shifted from what you knew to how you connected ideas?
Which employees became most valuable once pattern recognition mattered more than information access?
How did this reshape the type of your relationships with stakeholders from knowledge holders to context creators?
Each memory from the future you build sharpens your strategic instincts for the decisions ahead.
Build enough memories.
Shape better futures.
Know someone who could use more strategic creativity?
Share Practical Futures with your network.
This feels like a glimpse into a near-future family dinner conversation. Half playful negotiation, half existential debate. The back-and-forth is so sharp and tender at once!