Welcome to the future. Or rather, an introduction to the 2024 Good Futures Trends Tarot.
Looking ahead to what might be bubbling up in 2024 the Good Futures team have created a deck of 15 trend tarot cards. These cards are not for divination, but for inspiration. They serve as windows into possible futures, offering insights into emerging forces that will define and shape our society, culture and choices in the coming months.
We recommend using the deck as a compass to help navigate the labyrinth that could be 2024 (if January is anything to go by!). Harness the cards to expand your creative horizons, validate your strategic endeavours, and deepen your connection to an ever-changing world.
Each card illustrates an evolving trend. They’re not set in stone, but shaped by their interplay with one another and with you - the reader. Use them as the sparks to ignite your imagination. Select a specific element - an image, a symbol, an action, or simply a vibe, and let it lead you on a journey.
In this article we’re going to share five of our favourite trends from the deck.
I. CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION
We have a moral responsibility to be engaged with what’s going on. But we’re choosing when, where and how to reconnect.
If 2022 was all about the doom spiral, and the start of 2023 saw people choosing to digitally disconnect. 2024 is about conscious consumption. Notification-weary consumers face a quandary of engagement vs self-protection.
Market Precedent:
Focus Tech: The Light Phone II focuses on essentials such as calls and texts with add-ons that include a music player, note-taking and directions. Notably, there is no web browser, and the device does not emit blue light.
So What? Offer narratives and touch points that are thoughtful and considered. Convenience, without the complexity. Friction can be your friend - slow down and contemplate! Create safe spaces to re-engage. Be a trusted voice of truth & pragmatic information.
II. THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Rebalancing our relationship with technology, reconnecting with nature and taking a big leap into the great outdoors.
During lockdowns, we brought the outdoors inside, with house plants and nature documentaries. Now that the doors have been opened, we’re heading outside again to take a big deep breath of the real deal.
Market Precedent:
Future Museums: The Whale, Norway - opening 2026. Part museum, part experience, part conservation
Nature Meets Retail: Birkenstock launch BirkenField Meadow - a shoeless space in New York City to rediscover walking
So What? 2024 looks to bring more hybrid, tech-enabled experiences, rather than pure disconnection. Ones that blend AR and VR to offer phygital entertainment, blending the boundary between outdoor and indoor.
III. BIOHACKERS
From incremental to radical hacks. Take control of everything from cognitive and physical performance, to genetic predispositions for diseases, in-home diagnosis, and hacking longevity and life expectancy.
Market Precedent:
GLP-1s: We’ve just scratched the surface on these drugs. Expect to see many more hit the market in 24-25
In-Home Testing: Daye tampons bring STI testing out of the clinic and into the home and bathroom
So What? This is taking biohacking out of the clinic and sci-fi movies, and into our homes, our bathrooms and our gyms. From biomarkers to screening for diseases. The big news in 2024/25 is GLP-1 drugs to manage obesity and addiction. Gamify your health. Do just one thing. Take back control to live longer, healthier. But is it still in the hands of the few?
IV. GRIEF TECH
Grief tech means that you never really have to say goodbye to your loved ones. It will radically change our relationship with death and could herald the end of mourning as we know it. But should we be concerned?
Market Precedent:
Attending Your Own Funeral: Tech startup Storyfile offers deepfaked videos of dead loved ones to the bereaved. They even created a hologram of a woman to attend her own funeral and have a conversation with mourners.
So What? Startups promise everything from authentic conversations with the recently deceased; through to animated avatars and in-room holograms. But who owns the identity and data, and what happens when it gets corrupted or lost? A rise in people starting to include ‘Don’t Bot Me’ clauses in their wills, alongside a DNR order. Just because we can, does it mean we should?
V. MACHINE RESISTANCE
When technology feels like it’s happening to people, rather than for them, it’s time to take back control. Consider serendipity your superpower.
Market Precedent:
AI Poisoning: Nightshade is a tool that embeds imperceptible alterations to artwork's pixels before online uploads. If the art is captured by an AI dataset, these changes can disrupt the resulting model, leading to erratic and unforeseen outcomes.
Rise of the Craftsperson: LVMH are building a centre for craftsmanship in Paris to showcase artisan crafts. Whilst Bottega Veneta are opening a school for artisanal crafts to train more artists and craftspeople in these skills.
So What? 2023 saw the massive rise of Generative AI, but will 2024 see the bubble burst? The winners will be, as always, Big Tech. Limited chip availability will hit processing power and speeds. Plus there’s the hanging threat of model collapse. But this doesn’t mean AI is going away.
Into this steps the resistance. A new era of ‘rage against the machine’. From artists fighting back by poisoning generative AI, to the craft renaissance, and the serendipity of human curation. Will ‘created by humans’ become a 2024 USP? Could we see a rise of Luddism? Human curation becomes a premium opportunity, and ‘Made by Human’ a kitemark of quality. Predictive models offer convenience, but at the risk of missing out on the serendipity of real life experiences.
Want to see what else 2024 might have in store? The tarot cards set and full trend deck are available to purchase. Please email daisy@goodinnovation.co.uk for more information.
