These resources will help you understand, imagine, reflect and take action. We encourage you to use these as a starting point and see what sparks your interest and curiosity!
This collection of three science fiction short stories, published in collaboration with Slate and New America, explores how learning experiences of all kinds will be shaped by technology and other forces in the future—and the moral, ethical, and social challenges this will entail.
This collection of resources introduces the concept of learning futures, why it is important, and how we are approaching it at MLFTC.
Explore this collection of resources related to reimagining our educational paradigm to create a more sustainable future for all forms of life on Earth.
This essay by Dr. Katina Michael further examines the looming and ongoing automation of education around the world and the dangers of removing humans from the learning process. This response is a part of the Learning Futures series by Future Tense Fiction.
This short story by Shiv Ramdas is the third in the Learning Futures series by Future Tense Fiction in which a university professor competes with an educational Artificial Intelligence to see who is the better teacher and what larger social ramifications come about when higher education administration looks to cut costs.
This video is a recording of the discussion between short story author Shiv Ramdas and essay respondent Katina Michael, professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering at Arizona State University. Punya Mishra, professor and Associate Dean of Scholarship and Innovation at MLFTC, served as moderator.
Author Simon Brown shares some thoughts and ideas behind his science fiction piece “Speaker”, winner of the 2020 Sapiens Plurum short fiction contest and opening story in the Future Tense Fiction: Learning Futures series.
This essay by Dr. Andrea K. Thomer takes a closer look into “The Void” by Leigh Alexander and investigates the limits of data science and who these systems truly serve. This response is a part of the Learning Futures series by Future Tense Fiction.
This short story by Leigh Alexander is the second in the Learning Futures series by Future Tense Fiction that shows a woman’s experience navigating digital learning and the limits of equity and information in a not so distant future.
This video is a recording of the discussion between short story author Leigh Alexander and essay respondent Andrea K. Thomer, information scientist and assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. Punya Mishra, professor and Associate Dean of Scholarship and Innovation at MLFTC, served as moderator.
Donna Harraway is a renowned scholar working at the intersection of feminist theory, ecofeminism, science and technology. She is professor emerita at University of California Santa Cruz, in the History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies departments.
Read a series of blog posts in which MLFTC professors Iveta Silova and Gustavo Fischman and colleagues discuss the often overlooked role that education can play in fighting against climate change. They also look at the links between a country’s culture and its response to the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.
MLFTC doctoral student Valencia Clement performs a poem she wrote about environmental justice. Her intention is to bring attention to issues such as police brutality, the housing crisis and climate change, while calling for accountability from those who benefit most. She reminds us we are all complicit so we must undertake the responsibility of healing these harms. Learn more about Valencia at valenciaclement.com.