Temporal Protopias: Worldbuilding with Generative AI

his project explores how Generative AI can be used to prototype temporal protopias—fragments of desirable yet imperfect futures that unfold across multiple time horizons. Drawing inspiration from ecological Succession Theory, it treats futures not as static visions but as evolving sequences, tracing how an idea might shift across 5, 10, 25, and 50 years. The methodology combines rapid experimentation with the iterative mindset of design, embracing speed, variation, and the productive role of failure. Generative AI is used to create narratives and visual artefacts that act as objects-to-think-with, crystallising intangible futures into forms that teams can discuss, challenge, and reimagine. These artefacts serve as boundary objects, enabling diverse perspectives to align and surface hidden assumptions. Through this approach, speculative futures become dynamic, shareable, and collaborative, tools for navigating uncertainty and imagining how present decisions ripple forward in time.

keywords: temporal protopias; speculative futures; innovation; Generative AI

• year: August 2025 — ongoing