Jamais Cascio

Current

• Global Futures Strategist at Center for Responsible Nanotechnology
• Research Affiliate at Institute for the Future
• Foresight Consultant, Freelance Writer at Open the Future (Sole Proprietorship)

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Past

• Co-Founder at WorldChanging.com
• Game Designer (Contract) at Steve Jackson Games
• Director of Content Strategy at The Idea Factory

• Freelance Writer, Foresight Consultant at Self-Employed
• Technology Resource Specialist at Global Business Network

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Education

• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Santa Cruz

Recommended

2 people have recommended Jamais

Connections

262 connections

Industry

Writing and Editing

Websites

• Open the Future

Jamais Cascio’s Experience

• Global Futures Strategist

  Center for Responsible Nanotechnology

  (Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Nanotechnology industry)

  October 2006 — Present (1 year 8 months)

  The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology is a Washington, DC-based non-profit focusing on determining the least dangerous and most beneficial developmental pathways for the emerging technology of molecular manufacturing. I have long served as an informal advisor to the organization's founders, and they recently asked me to take on a more formal (volunteer) role in the organization.

• Research Affiliate

  Institute for the Future

  (Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Think Tanks industry)

  July 2006 — Present (1 year 11 months)

  The Institute for the Future, a foresight and planning non-profit, has brought me in as a research affiliate for projects ranging from the annual Ten Year Forecast to a set of sustainability and technology foresight engagements.

• Foresight Consultant, Freelance Writer

  Open the Future (Sole Proprietorship)

  (Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Writing and Editing industry)

  January 2002 — Present (6 years 5 months)

  My core interest is in how society grapples with rapidly-changing concepts of the future, and I undertake scenario and foresight projects as opportunities arise. Recent projects include:
  • Lead Editor, Ten Year Forecast 2007, Institute for the Future (IFTF);
  • Foresight Consultant, Open University Online Brainstorm project;
  • Moderator, Packard Foundation Nitrogen Pollution Strategies project wiki;
  • Multiple engagements on the future of the environment and health for IFTF;
  • Future of Energy project for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI);
  • Multiple scenario projects on nuclear proliferation for the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability;

• Co-Founder

  WorldChanging.com

  (Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Writing and Editing industry)

  October 2003 — April 2006 (2 years 7 months)

  WorldChanging is an award-winning weblog examining the emerging technologies, resources, and models for building a more sustainable and democratic world. WorldChanging presently has around a quarter-million unique monthly readers, and is one of the top 150 linked-to sites according to Blogpulse.
  
  I wrote approximately half of the over 4,200 entries on the site as of the end of March 2006, covering a wide variety of topics including urban design, climate science, renewable energy, future technologies, open source models, biotech and nanotech, scenarios for non-profits, social networks, third world "leapfrog" development, and much more.
  
  My essays on the environment, emerging technologies and social responses to disruptive change are regularly linked to and discussed by mainstream news and information sources, and have been cited by numerous academic and online writers.
  
  Although I am still the Co-Founder, I moved on from WorldChanging as a contributing writer in April of 2006.

• Game Designer (Contract)

  Steve Jackson Games

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Writing and Editing industry)

  October 2001 — December 2003 (2 years 3 months)

  Texas game company Steve Jackson Games commissioned two "future history" resource books for their series on life in the year 2100, Transhuman Space: Broken Dreams (pub. 2003) and Transhuman Space: Toxic Memes (pub. 2004). Broken Dreams explores intellectual property, AI and advanced biotechnologies, while Toxic Memes looks at ideas, social networks, political movements, and the cultural life of citizens of the late 21st century.

• Director of Content Strategy

  The Idea Factory

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Management Consulting industry)

  March 2000 — August 2001 (1 year 6 months)

  The Idea Factory was a small consultancy with a focus on scenarios, design and innovation. My role mixed facilitation and content design, as well as the creation of multiple new tools for promoting organizational innovation.
  • Lead scenario consultant for global and national clients including Royal Dutch Shell, TPG, and Scient;
  • Scenario author and engagement facilitator for global and national firms including government of Singapore, UPS and IBM.

• Freelance Writer, Foresight Consultant

  Self-Employed

  (Writing and Editing industry)

  August 1998 — March 2000 (1 year 8 months)

  • Regular column for the Johannesburg Mail and Guardian, "New World" (focusing on social effects of emerging technologies);
  • Various articles in publications such as Wired, Seattle Weekly, Salon, PC Computing, Byte and others;
  • Technology and "Future World" consultant for multiple television and film productions (including Martian Law, Deep Impact, Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict, various others).

• Technology Resource Specialist

  Global Business Network

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Management Consulting industry)

  April 1995 — August 1998 (3 years 5 months)

  • Scenario author and contributor for multiple projects at GBN;
  • Online community manager ("director of digital discourse").

Jamais Cascio’s Education

• University of California, Berkeley

  MA/ABD, Political Science, 1989 — 1993

  Passed Ph.D. qualifying examination in International Politics with Honors.

• University of California, Santa Cruz

  BA, Double Major, History and Anthropology, 1983 — 1988

  Graduated with college honors, departmental honors (Anthropology), departmental highest honors (History). History bachelor's essay won the 1988 Chancellor's Award.

Additional Information

Jamais Cascio’s Websites:

• Open the Future

Jamais Cascio’s Interests:

Emerging technologies, The Future, nanotechnology, biotech, longevity, enhancement technologies, global warming, environment, energy technologies, Internet, participatory panopticon, macintosh

Jamais Cascio’s Groups:

Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technology

•    Lifeboat Foundation Scientific Advisory Boards member
•    Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies member
•    Worldchanging member

Jamais Cascio’s Honors:

Notable Presentations and Interviews:

University of Hawai'i at Manoa Graduate Program in Future Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii
"Foresight Tools and Innovation"

Institute for the Future, Palo Alto, California
"Imagining the Future of Healthcare"

Yahoo!, Cupertino, California
"The Participatory Panopticon"

TED 2006, Monterey, California
"The Future We Will Create"

Accelerating Change 2005, Palo Alto, California
"Personal Memory Assistants"

Meshforum 2005, Chicago, Illinois
"The Rise of the Participatory Panopticon"

Changesurfer Radio Interview , syndicated radio show
"WorldChanging and Ethical Technological Development"

KUOW Radio, Seattle, Washington
"Is This The Last Human Century?", a debate with Bill Joy.

FuturShow 3000, Bologna, Italy
"The Evolution of the Web"

South by Southwest Interactive 1997
(3/1997), Austin, Texas
"The Politics of Cyberspace"

Jamais Cascio’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch