The kids our son is playing with are not real
She sits next to him, glowing in the summer weekend sun. When a breeze played with her hair, his gaze followed through the city park, focusing on their highlighted son.
He swings his teddy bear with the grace of a 2-year-old, chatting in a mix of Mandarin, Hindu and English while orbiting the thick, lush grass surrounding their acorn-peppered blanket.
- How are you so sure this won’t affect his psyche? The kids our son is playing with are not real. You do realise that we can only afford a standard therapy?
They laugh while a park’s drone alarm scares birds off a distant tree.
- Children represent the future, and all we know is in the past. As parents, we care so much that we’re always terrified.
- Don’t try your neurocoach conditioning on me…
- Come on. The last time I checked, children of the world are still not blind despite generations of reading in the dark, sitting close to TVs, or looking at screens. And not deafened by a parade of transistor radios, boomboxes, walkmans, iPods, earbuds…
- You know this is different. Yes, humaNPCs went through a ton of research, but…
- It’s just like with any other tech. Scary when new, disappears once boring.
She grabs a handful of pinecones…
- Primal masculine traits are associated with shaping our surroundings with our hands. The only thing changing is the infrastructure we live our lives off, and the change is always scary.
… and starts putting them by size, one by one, on the blanket.
- You are not a real man if you can’t shoe a horse. Turned into:
- You are not a real man if you can’t fix a car. Turned into:
- You are not a real man if you can’t repair a drone.
She reaches for acorns and starts the process again.
- You are not a real man if you can’t build a house.
- You are not a real man if you can’t fix a computer.
- You are not a real man if you can’t set up a data mesh for your family.
He picks the biggest one and tosses it towards the pond.
- I’m glad we’re not simulating a bilingual home like the Turners.
- Oh no. That would be too much, but this is my point. Pick something to worry about and relax about everything else. Make a decision and move on. Enjoy the moment.
She theatrically spreads her arms sideways.
- Look around you. This won’t last forever. I guess that you just work too much.
He nodes with a smile, pointing his index finger up.
- Neurocoaching alert, but maybe you’re right. After a hard day, I’m too tired to remember who is real-real.
She moves closer and looks straight into his headset.
- I happen to know of a special, multi-step procedure to check if you’re real-real. Fancy a demo?
The drone alarm goes off again.
Hello Practical Futurists,
Welcome to your weekly practice, where we use futures thinking and product sci-fi to improve your strategic imagination and get your leadership future-ready.
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Start here to make the most of your time if this is your first
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Weekly Self-Reflection Prompts
Let's make the products and services mentioned in this week’s story even more relatable by first grounding them in your personal life.
For extra inspiration, you can use this one brought to you by one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
Everything you can imagine is real.
Pablo Picasso
Personal life reflection prompts
List 3 skills a humaNPC interface could help you to master.
What data would your household members share and access using data mesh?
Name two concerns about your kids or loved ones using human NPCs.
Nice!
Let’s switch to the context of your industry, organisation, team, service or product you are working with.
Professional life reflection prompts
Would you be interested in training negotiation skills with a humaNPC pre-trained by your organisation?
What would make you rely on this interface during high-stakes events, board or investor meetings?
How would humaNPCs change customer service for the main profit driver in your current company, and how would you differentiate it from the competition?
Name two mentors you would synthesise into a humaNPC you can talk to 24/7.
And that’s all we have today.
Share your answers or the biggest takeaway in the comments. This helps us understand what resonates with you so that we can explore those ideas further.
Don't forget to explore previous editions if you want even more inspiration.
Have a great week, and see you in the next one.
Pawel Halicki
PS. If you’re enjoying Practical Futures, will you take 5 seconds to forward this edition to inspire a fellow leader?
It helps us to grow the community and may one day empower more strategic thinkers to lead in the age of AI.