The contemporary world is characterized by the rapid advancement and diffusion of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, quantum computing, and renewable energy systems. These technologies are not merely incremental improvements; they represent powerful forces fundamentally reshaping societal structures, economic paradigms, ethical frameworks, and the very fabric of human experience at an unprecedented and accelerating pace.

In this context of rapid, systemic change and high uncertainty, reactive approaches are demonstrably insufficient. Societies, organizations, and policymakers require robust, proactive methods to anticipate, comprehend, and strategically navigate these complex, uncertain, and often disruptive transformations. This necessitates a shift towards understanding technology not in isolation, but through its intricate co-evolution with society (Michael, 2024) and acknowledging its dual role as both a potential solution and a source of new societal dilemmas.

This proposed special issue focuses specifically on the application of foresight methodologies not merely to understand technological trajectories, but to actively shape and steer them towards sustainable and equitable futures. This involves a deliberate integration of environmental, social, and economic considerations into technology assessment and strategic planning , alongside a proactive engagement with the complex ethical dilemmas that inevitably arise. The urgency of this focus is underscored by pressing global challenges, particularly climate change, and the recognized need for more adaptive governance systems capable of responding to rapid technological and societal shifts (Janssen & van der Voort, 2020).

List of topic areas

• Theme 1: Novel Foresight Methodologies for Technology Assessment & Impact Analysis Focus: This theme centers on the development, adaptation, integration, or critical evaluation of foresight methods specifically aimed at grappling with the unique characteristics of emerging technologies – deep uncertainty, potential for systemic disruption, complex ethical dimensions, and long time horizons.
  • Potential Topics: Developing AI-augmented foresight processes for enhanced horizon scanning or scenario generation. Integrating quantitative modelling (e.g., agent-based models, system dynamics) with qualitative scenario narratives for richer impact assessment. Refining participatory methods (e.g., future workshops, citizen panels) for co-creating desirable technology futures and ensuring inclusivity. Exploring the use of real-time Delphi or continuous scanning systems for dynamic technology assessment in rapidly evolving fields. Designing and testing ethical impact assessment frameworks embedded within foresight processes. Adapting causal layered analysis (CLA) or other critical futures methods to deconstruct narratives surrounding emerging technologies.
• Theme 2: Case Studies of Foresight in Tech-Driven Transformations Focus: This theme seeks empirical accounts detailing the application of foresight methodologies in specific sectors, organizations, or policy contexts undergoing significant transformation driven by emerging technologies. Emphasis should be on practical implementation, observed impacts (intended and unintended), challenges encountered, and transferable lessons learned.
  • Potential Topics: Applying foresight approaches (e.g., scenario planning, skills forecasting) to develop adaptive strategies for labor markets impacted by AI and automation. Utilizing foresight to anticipate and navigate the ethical, social, and economic transformations in healthcare driven by biotechnology, genomics, and digital health innovations. Case studies on using foresight methods (e.g., backcasting, urban modelling) to guide sustainable and inclusive smart city planning, development, and governance. National or regional foresight exercises aimed at building preparedness strategies for the potential societal impacts of quantum computing. Strategic foresight applications within the aerospace industry concerning the long-term implications and governance of space exploration and resource utilization. Foresight informing policy design, investment decisions, and transition management for climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies (e.g., renewable energy deployment, carbon capture).
• Theme 3: Ethical Considerations and Anticipatory Governance Focus: This theme addresses the critical need for proactive engagement with the ethical dilemmas and governance challenges posed by emerging technologies. It explores how foresight can contribute to developing anticipatory, adaptive, resilient, and ethically informed governance frameworks that steer technology towards societal benefit while mitigating risks. This includes fostering value-sensitive approaches.
  • Potential Topics: Employing foresight methods to anticipate and address ethical issues in AI development and deployment (e.g., bias, accountability, transparency, human oversight). Developing anticipatory governance models for emerging fields like gene editing, neurotechnology, or synthetic biology. Using foresight to explore future data privacy challenges and solutions in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), ubiquitous sensing, and smart environments. Regulatory foresight approaches for managing the introduction and integration of autonomous systems (e.g., vehicles, weapons). Foresight processes designed to explicitly address equity, access, and distributional justice concerns in technological transitions. Exploring the practical linkages between foresight methodologies and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) frameworks.
• Theme 4: Scenario Planning for Sustainable Technological Futures Focus: This theme highlights the power of scenario planning and related techniques (e.g., morphological analysis, field anomaly relaxation) to explore a diverse range of plausible futures shaped by the interplay of technological development and societal choices. A key requirement is the explicit integration of sustainability (environmental, social, economic) and equity dimensions to identify potential risks, uncover opportunities, and illuminate pathways towards more desirable, resilient, and just outcomes.
  • Potential Topics: Developing scenarios for circular economy transitions enabled or challenged by digital technologies (e.g., AI for resource optimization, blockchain for supply chain transparency). Exploring alternative pathways to a sustainable and resilient energy future, considering the roles of diverse renewable energy sources, smart grids, energy storage, and demand-side management. Future scenarios depicting the transformation of global food systems influenced by agricultural technologies (agritech), biotechnology, and changing consumption patterns. Crafting long-term scenarios that explore different models of human-AI collaboration, integration, and potential societal restructuring. Developing normative or transformative scenarios aimed at achieving specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through strategic deployment of technological innovation.
• Theme 5: Cross-Sectoral Implications and Systemic Understanding Focus: Recognizing that the impacts of emerging technologies rarely remain confined to their sector of origin, this theme encourages analyses that trace the cross-sectoral ripple effects and systemic interdependencies. It calls for integrated foresight approaches capable of capturing these complex dynamics and informing more holistic strategies (Allen et al., 2023).
  • Potential Topics: The future of education and lifelong learning in a world increasingly shaped by AI, immersive technologies, and personalized learning platforms. Analyzing the impact of financial technology (FinTech), decentralized finance (DeFi), and AI on financial stability, inclusion, regulation, and the future of money. Exploring the complex interplay between energy transitions, the future of mobility and transportation, and sustainable urban development patterns. Assessing the potential cascading effects of climate change mitigation or geoengineering technologies on global supply chains, international relations, and geopolitical stability. Investigating systemic risks arising from the increasing reliance of interconnected critical infrastructures (e.g., energy, communication, finance, healthcare) on emerging digital technologies.
• Theme 6: Long-Term Perspectives on Human-Technology Co-Evolution Focus: This theme invites contributions that adopt a longer-term, more philosophical perspective on the mutual shaping processes between humans and technology. It encourages exploration of potential shifts in human identity, social relations, cognitive capacities, cultural values, and existential meaning in technologically saturated futures.
  • Potential Topics: Exploring the futures of human enhancement, bio-digital convergence, and the ethical and societal implications of altering human capabilities. Long-term societal implications of advanced, general, or superintelligent AI (Armstrong et al., 2022). The evolution of work, leisure, community structures, and social interaction in futures heavily mediated by digital and virtual technologies. Analyzing cultural adaptation processes and societal resilience in the face of accelerating technological change and potential disruptions. Philosophical, ethical, and existential considerations arising from scenarios involving advanced AI, synthetic life, or large-scale space colonization.

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.

Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here.

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 20/08/2025

Closing date for manuscripts submission: 20/03/2026

Guest editors

Muhammad Imran Qureshi, Teesside University International Business School, UK, m.qureshi@tees.ac.uk

Sabeen Hussain Bhatti, Teesside University International Business School, UK, S.Bhatti@tees.ac.uk

Nohman Khan, Strategic Research Institute (SRI), Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), Malaysia, maliknohman143@gmail.com