We sit down with Mika Ilari Koskinen, the lead designer behind Synapse, Futures Platform’s new agentic AI workspace for Futures Intelligence, to talk design philosophy: the choices that shaped the product, and why good design helps people cope with uncertainty. First in a series taking you behind the scenes of building Synapse.

Futures Intelligence is an integrative capability that brings different forms of future-related insights in one connected sense-making flow to turn them into shared, decision-ready understanding. It brings together different types of future-focused knowledge. Used in isolation, each has blind spots. Used together, they build a comprehensive picture of the possible futures ahead.

The future is a mix of what we know is coming, what we can anticipate but not fully see, what we overlook despite being right in front of us, and what blindsides us entirely. The Futures Intelligence Window maps the future across these four lenses: the known, the uncertain, the overlooked, and the unimaginable.

To stay ahead, organisations must widen their lens, exploring not just their own industry but what’s happening on the edges.

Curated by our team of futurists, more than 800 trend card features compact, easy-to-digest analyses on future changes. Many of the cards also feature two scenario descriptions that explore alternative future development paths for the trend. Save time on horizon scanning and explore a rich library of trend analyses by leading futurists

Horizon scanning, also known as environmental scanning, is a foresight method used for discovering early signs of potential change. It is a systematic process that enables organisations to spot trends before they emerge into the mainstream and identify key action points to proactively shape desirable futures.

As uncertainty about the future increases, wild cards and science fiction are gaining popularity among various organisations to foster future preparedness and visionary thinking. Exploring possible futures supported by free imagination is a cornerstone of versatile foresight practice.

Horizon scanning is the phase of gathering future-related knowledge, which is the first stage of the larger foresight process. It is about being vigilant concerning the changes in one’s environment. The main focus in this category of Futures intelligence is on discontinuities, emerging issues, and weak signals of change.

Much of what we can know about the future at the present moment is based on the directions and interactions of megatrends, trends and change drivers.