In 2003, Australian researcher Joseph Voros published a diagram that would change how we think about the future: the "futures cone". The idea is simple but powerful: starting from the present, the future opens like a cone widening over time. At the centre are probable futures (those we seem headed towards). Around them, plausible futures (those consistent with our knowledge). Further out, possible futures (those requiring innovations or radical changes). And underlying everything, preferable futures — the ones we would want to build.
This distinction is fundamental because it reveals an often-ignored fact: the future is not singular. There is no inevitable destiny we are marching towards. There are multiple possible futures, and our collective choices determine which one we move towards. Voros's cone transforms the future from destiny into territory for exploration.
But who has the right to explore this territory? Historically, thinking about the future has been dominated by elites: military think tanks during the Cold War, corporations in strategic planning, governments in policy. The ordinary citizen was — and often still is — excluded from these conversations.
Democratising futures thinking is one of Relatronica's central goals. We believe that every person, every community, has the right and the ability to imagine their own future. Complex mathematical models are not needed: what's needed are accessible tools, open information and spaces for conversation.
The concept of "agency" — the ability to act and influence the course of events — is at the heart of this vision. When a community explores future scenarios together, it is not just doing an intellectual exercise: it is building the collective awareness needed to act. It is moving from "the future happens to us" to "we build the future".