The atlas of new futures
Exploring the future through territories
The eighth edition of the AXA Foresight Report takes the form of an Atlas of New Futures: an exploration of how major transformations may shape the adaptation and resilience of different territories over the next 15 years.
Rather than describing a single future, this report maps a diversity of possible worlds shaped by climate change, technological evolution, demographic shifts and geopolitical dynamics.
An Innovative Foresight Approach: New Future Archetypes
The future rarely unfolds as a single trajectory, and this is especially true when we look at the world through a territorial lens. This edition introduces ‘New Futures Archetypes’ (NFAs) as immersive foresight constructs, describing plausible worlds in a box
that makes systemic change visible on a human scale. It allows envisioning how large forces translate into routines, constraints, and everyday life.
While speculative, NFAs are informed by real-world data and observable signals emerging across the globe.
5 Territories, 5 Logics of Adaptation
At AXA, risk is always experienced locally. Climate events, economic disruptions or technological shifts do not impact all regions in the same way. Understanding risk through territorial archetypes offers a more concrete and actionable perspective on global transformations.
Across this Atlas, different territories reveal distinct pathways of adaptation.
Read together, the five NFAs map a landscape of possible adaptations: from technological protection to social organization, economic restructuring, and ecological restoration. None is a complete picture of the future; each is a coherent world for exploring consequences.
Olivier Desbiey
Head of Foresight
With this report, we wanted to explore new ways of thinking about the future of risk and adaptation. By combining foresight and design, and by focusing on territories, we aim to make complex transformations more tangible and actionable. By making futures more tangible, this approach helps organizations, decision-makers and citizens better anticipate and navigate uncertainty.