246: Nonlinear Futures: What Happens When Cause Doesn’t Match Effect with Jamais Cascio

World-renowned global thinker Jamais Cascio returns to our podcast with groundbreaking insights on the chaotic state of global affairs. Bucking the traditional VUCA framework, Jamais introduces the BANI framework—brittle, anxious, nonlinear, and incomprehensible—to better reflect the unpredictable challenges of our current world. This discussion gains urgency as we explore how events like climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic fit into this new paradigm, emphasizing the need for innovative ways to understand and navigate our tumultuous times.

Together with Angela F. Williams, Jamais co-authored "Navigating the Age of Chaos: A Sense-Making Guide to a BANI World That Doesn't Make Sense," offering listeners strategies to cultivate resilience in this chaotic world. Introducing the concept of Positive BANI—bendability, attentiveness, neuroflexibility, and interconnectedness—they underscore the power of empathy, improvisation, and inclusivity as essential tools for individuals and organizations. These elements, while not a magic bullet, are pivotal in coping with ongoing chaos and achieving a balance between personal well-being and systemic change.

One of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers, Jamais Cascio explores our environment, technology, and culture to build plausible future scenarios. As a Distinguished Fellow at Institute for the Future, he created the BANI framework for understanding global chaos, now in use worldwide. He works, writes, and speaks around the world on issues facing the global future.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Introduction of the BANI framework by Jamais Cascio as an evolution from the VUCA framework, addressing the chaotic nature of modern global affairs.

• Exploration of "Positive BANI" with a focus on bendability, attentiveness, neuroflexibility, and interconnectedness as tools for resilience.

• Discussion on the implications of artificial intelligence and the sustainability of the current attention-driven economic model.

• Examination of the future of work and the role of AI in reshaping identity and purpose in a world with reduced need for human labor.

• Emphasis on empathy, improvisation, and inclusivity as vital for navigating the chaos and achieving balance.

• Vision for a future where technology reduces survival burdens, enabling pursuit of fulfilling activities, while addressing current urgent challenges like climate change.

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Supporting Resources:

Linkedin -  www.linkedin.com/in/jamaiscascio

Website - www.openthefuture.com (archive of past work)

Original BANI: https://medium.com/@cascio/facing-the-age-of-chaos-b00687b1f51d

Most recent BANI: https://medium.com/@cascio/bani-2025-an-overview-575d92026fe1

Navigating the Age of Chaos: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/800209/navigating-the-age-of-chaos-by-jamais-cascio-bob-johansen-and-angela-f-williams/

Navigating the Age of Chaos on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Age-Chaos-Sense-Making-Doesnt/dp/B0DVBG9FYR/

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