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My manifesto for 2026: Read it here
New: Discussion of this topic, made with Notebook LM (very powerful stuff:)
New: Spanish version (generated via NotebookLM)
Overview
The idea of an American Future as a global reference point no longer exists. Instead, a new reality is emerging: The Bad Future, defined by power and might over purpose, technology over humanity, and transactions over trust and cooperation – paradoxically embodied by the ‘leader of the free world'. This is my appeal: Europe must ‘take back tomorrow'!
The Choice before us: Good Future or Bad Future?
Since 2016, the core idea of my work as a Futurist, Keynote Speaker, Author and Film-Maker has been The Good Future. For a long time, The Good Future was more than a concept — it was a vision grounded in human values, collaboration, science and technology that sought to amplify flourishing for everyone. For a while, it seemed that this future might be anchored in the United States: the birthplace of the internet, early social networks, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, and many of today’s foundational technologies.
But those days are gone. Since early 2025, the promise of The Good Future has been under intense pressure — not because technology has failed, but because political and economic leadership has. Governance that prioritizes short-term gain over long-term purpose is eroding trust in institutions and weakening the global economic order.
Technology Didn’t Fail — We Did
AI hasn’t turned “evil” … It has become normal. AI was adopted faster than the internet itself but without commensurate ethics, culture, or safeguards. Convenience has been sold as progress, personalization as insight, and automation as liberation — all while we quietly relinquish effort, judgment, responsibility, and the process of creative friction.
Read more here: TheBadFuture.comWhy Europe must take the lead in 2026
The Good Future doesn’t vanish in times of crisis. It evolves. What has changed is not the need for it, but where it can be credibly built. It is no longer shaped by what happens in a visibly dysfunctional United States—and this assessment goes far beyond any single administration. The Good Future will not be made in the USA. It will emerge everywhere else, but its moral center must be Europe, working alongside new partners—including the BRICS countries, Canada, Africa, South Korea, Australia/New Zealand, and yes, China (more on that soon).
The Bad Future is not inevitable. It is optional. Pessimism didn’t protect us. Optimism without action wasn’t enough – I should know! And neutrality enabled the worst outcomes. We didn’t resist. We didn’t decide. We simply clicked “Accept.”
Europe must now disengage from the U.S. trajectory toward the Bad Future. Not quietly—but deliberately, visibly, and unapologetically. Europe must resist it, reject it, and stop supporting, promoting, or financing those who advance it. This is the moment to reclaim human agency, restore purpose, and lead—not by dominance, but by values.
New NotebookLM video with real-voice overdub by me:
Check out these NotebookLM-generated slideshows – some slides are pretty cool, others are… well… a bit odd:)
