Futurist Keynote Speaker

For over 25 years, Dr. Christopher S. Rice has been fascinating, provoking and energizing audiences with his research-based keynotes, board talks and workshops.

If your executives, board or organizational leadership are looking for new insights and guidance for navigating the New Weird, book Dr. Rice for a deep dive into the social, technological, economic, environmental and political trends that will impact you over the next 10-20 years. In an increasingly chaotic world, you’ll be glad you did.

Current Keynote Topics

Drivers of the New Weird: A Look at the Trends Shaping the Futures of 2040

In this talk, futurist Dr. Christopher Rice will take you through the key Drivers, Trends and Signals (demographic, housing, food, technology, economics, health, environment & climate, communications and more) shaping our world through 2038, help you look at the world through the lens of strategic foresight, and provide provocations and takeaways for thinking through the implications for your organization and community.

From Memex to Minitels: Alternative Tech Futures (and Their Retro Pasts)

A good futurist looks back twice as far as they look ahead. Why? Because we need to understand that we are all living in the alternate Future of someone else's once Present. The techno-social environment we live in was the result of decisions made decades before. Things today could have been very different if decisions had been made differently in the past. Consequently, we need to understand how decisions today will be shaping the futures we will live in decades from now. In this talk, futurist Dr. Christopher Rice examines key decisions in the history of computing and the Internet examining a number of possible technological presents in which we could have found ourselves today, and then pivots to encouraging us to think differently about our choices today and how this could result in a variety of alternate tech futures. We are all effectively time travelers in slow motion, so we may as well get good at it!

Artificial Intelligence and its Socio-Environmental Impacts

Sometimes a new technology can come at us so fast that it's difficult to make sense of it or know how to adapt quickly enough. AI, specifically Generative AI, is one of those technologies. Is it a new general purpose technology like the Internet, Electricity or Steam? Is it a hype bubble full of sound and fury, ultimately signaling nothing? Or perhaps somewhere in between? In this talk, Dr. Christopher Rice will guide you through thinking about AI from a systems-thinking approach to understanding this technology - from a social, economic, ecological, political, and scientific/engineering perspective - in order to better understand where this technology may prove fruitful, how it may yet transform some aspects of our lives, and where it is almost certain to prove disastrous without wise action today.

How Not to Be Surprised by the Future: Systems Thinking and Strategic Foresight

Most people, when they think about the future, envision a world that is much like today, perhaps with some slight changes in technology and fashion. At Refuturing, we call these Hand-Me-Down Futures. The truth is, the futures are always multiple, simultaneous, and unevenly distributed. Focusing on technology alone leads to many leaders being blindsided by the sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic, changes shaping our world. So how should we think about the futures to best prepare ourselves, our institutions and our communities for the possibilities ahead? How do we learn to navigate the New Weird? The answer lies in thinking from a systems perspective and the cross-impacts of competing trends.

How High's the Water, Mama?: Anticipating a World in Climate Breakdown

As physicist Niels Bohr once said, "It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future." However, two trends are pretty much baked in at this point: population decline and extreme climate change. Current trendiness show us experiencing 3°C of warming by 2100, with the 2°C barrier being crossed somewhere around 2040. From weird weather, to sea level rise, to disease, to infrastructural impacts, we will all be dealing with the impacts of climate change for the rest of our lives. So how will we choose to adapt? In this talk, Dr. Christopher Rice will explore the likely impacts of climate change from a social, technological, economic, environmental and political perspective, and help you think through potential ways in which we can build a better future in spite - or perhaps because of - these dramatic changes.

Feral Universities: Exploring the Futures of Postsecondary Education.

From COVID to shifts in federal funding, from changes in the perception of the value of higher education to changes in needs for workforce preparation due to technological and climate shifts, universities and colleges continue to undergo significant institutional strains and struggle to effectively navigate the New Weird in which they find themselves. Dr. Christopher Rice has worked at a number of higher education institutions over the past 30 years, from faculty to IT, from building a teaching and learning center to strengthening enrollment and retention through social media engagement, from running a research center to helping build a $100 million statewide online learning program. Using that experience as well as a deep understanding of future trends, Dr. Rice will help guide you through multiple possibilities for rethinking, reimagining and refuturing the higher education of tomorrow, which may involve letting our institutions go Feral.

“Chris presented to our group in a manner that captivated our audience. He has a unique ability to look forward, extrapolating multi-sector trends into inevitabilities or future considerations that are invaluable to scenario planning, forecasting, and strategy. His work is both engaging and compelling. I highly recommend bringing his perspective into your future thinking.” - Ellen Katz, Chair, Larger Community Foundations

Click the button below to book Dr. Rice for your next event or follow him on Bluesky (@badfutures.com):

Dr. Rice’s work with the Northern Kentucky Community provided beneficial data-driven insights as we pursue world class standards in unity, health, and education. These insights generated valuable discussion and strategic direction as we imagine and build our 22^nd century OneNKY!” - Karen Finan, President & CEO, OneNKY Alliance

“The SPEDA organization was honored to have Dr. Rice present to our annual directors meeting. As an organizations that prides itself on being innovative, growth oriented and bold; we were excited to see and hear the tremendous presentation made by Chris. His in-depth study of the facts across the nation and world and then implementing them into anticipated trends coming in the social, political, environmental and economic landscape is astounding. Anyone who is looking to get their organization ahead and would benefit greatly from Dr. Rice’s study and work. We highly recommend.” - Chris Girdler, President & CEO, SPEDA

Click the button below to book Dr. Rice for your next event or follow him on Bluesky (@badfutures.com):