Firm uses sci-fi stories to nudge companies into climate action

Ari Popper of SciFutures says these narratives can shape big business

Photo by Antoni Shkraba.

Ari Popper wants you to be excited about the future. He is founder and chief executive of a US-based firm called SciFutures, which writes science fiction stories for businesses and other organisations – in order to help them visualise how their products or services might evolve as technology and society evolve.

SciFutures calls it “science fiction prototyping”. The idea is to anticipate the future and how a company or organisation might evolve over time to meet that future head-on. It could influence everything from corporate strategy to the design of new products.

SciFuture’s clients range from Coca-Cola to L’Oreal and US hardware retailer Lowe’s. The executives at these companies, try as they might, cannot predict exactly what will happen in the coming years. So, why not write the future for them instead? As Popper says, “You can shape people’s worldview by getting the story right.”

Lowe’s, for example, built a virtual reality “Holoroom” in 2014 to help its customers conceptualise their home improvement projects. The idea emerged during a collaboration with SciFutures.

I first spoke to Popper around that time, for an article published by BBC Future. In the years since, climate change has become hugely impactful for big businesses. I wondered how SciFutures was responding to that. Because the future is arguably more uncertain, and potentially more calamitous, than ever.