toshi hoo
via al (aims)
via institute for the future site (marina gorbis.. jane mcgonigal.. et al):
Toshi leads IFTF’s Emerging Media Lab (EML), where he explores the implications of rapidly evolving technologies that are transforming the ways humans communicate, collaborate and connect. Toshi also leads IFTF’s Technology and Media Foresight Council advising leaders from both the public and private sector, and he is a lead instructor for IFTF’s Three Horizons of AI course that explores the near, mid and long term implications for AI. Toshi’s work examines not only the direct applications of emerging technologies ranging from VR to AI, but also the wider implications and impact on individuals, organizations, and society at large.
need 1st/most: means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening – so we can hear what’s already on each heart as global detox in order to org around legit needs
nothing to date has gotten to the root of problem
legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
how we gather in a space is huge.. need to try spaces of permission where people have nothing to prove to facil curiosity over decision making.. because the finite set of choices of decision making is unmooring us.. keeping us from us..
ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. [again].. for (blank)’s sake..
Prior to joining IFTF, Toshi served as media technology consultant for famed futurist Ray Kurzweil, with whom he produced ground breaking live VR demonstrations for the TED stage and co-directed the feature-length documentary “The Singularity is Near” based on Kurzweil’s best-selling book. Toshi studied film at Mass College of Art and Design and religion at Bryn Athyn College.
ray kurzweil et al.. singularity is near et al
from link to emergining media lab (that toshi leads) []:
Emerging Media Lab at IFTF
The Emerging Media Lab (EML) at Institute for the Future explores the rapidly evolving technologies and platforms that are transforming human communication. Over the past 100 years, we have seen exponential growth in the tools which humans use to share information, knowledge, emotions, and experiences—with one another, with the rest of the world, and into the future for others to learn from and build upon. Communication technologies have and will continue to be the most powerfully accelerating factor in the development of human culture and conscious.
The EML at IFTF serves as a prototyping studio, an independent research group, and an active participant in the continually evolving relationship between humans and the sophisticated media systems we create.
EML RESEARCH
New Realities of Learning: Experiential Media and the Future of Education
The Emerging Media Lab at Institute for the Future partnered with California Community Colleges to explore the future affordances and applications of virtual reality and augmented reality for education and workforce training.
Together, VR and AR provide a wide array of powerful new experiential communication tools that provide learners with deeply immersive experiences that can deepen learning, connect with a wider range of learning styles, improve retention, and extend accessibility for learners and educators through remote collaboration systems.
what if we go deeper than ‘learning’.. ie: life over survival ness et al.. ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
If you are interested in learning more about this research
Please contact eml@iftf.org
EML METHODOLOGIES
TRACKING PROLIFERATION
Following the IFTF Signals methodology, the EML will closely monitor the early signals of media technology as well as technologies that are coming online and to-market. The EML will continue to build on relationships with technology/platform developers both large and small in order to track developments from both top-down and bottom-up. As a not-for-profit, technology agnostic institution, IFTF holds a unique position and holistic perspective to be able to track not only individual product innovations, but to shape and guide the emergence of distributed communication ecosystems.
again.. need to try the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition – maybe in loveland/greeley/collins
otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. [again].. for (blank)’s sake..
HACKING APPLICATIONS
The EML will explore and evaluate both prescribed uses as well as uses unintended by the technology creators. The EML will experiment with potential use cases and applications in partnerships with a wide range of user groups including business enterprise, government agencies, social interventions, creative artists, healthcare innovators, and next generation educational systems.
UNPACKING IMPLICATIONS
The Institute for the Future has a nearly 50 year history of providing not only foresight into possible and likely futures, but more importantly, in leading and cultivating the conversations needed to more fully understand the impact these futures will have across the spectrum of humanity. The Emerging Media Lab will work in partnership with the extensive collection of IFTF researchers, partners and domain experts to better explain the wide scale impact of these emerging media trends, and help our clients and partner organizations better understand, navigate and apply the new affordances of the continually evolving media communications ecosystem.
again.. need 1st/most: means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening – so we can hear what’s already on each heart as global detox in order to org around legit needs
RESEARCH FOCUS
Our primary research is focused on the rapidly emerging areas of experiential communication technologies including: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, virtual beings, social media, cognitive computing and other forms of ambient and immersive media/computing. Moving forward, our definition of media will evolve to include any tools, technologies or platforms that enable, assist or enhance human communications.
needs to be sans any form of m\a\p.. we need global detox leap.. so our ‘communication’ is legit communication.. ie: self-talk as data via idiosyncratic jargon et al
otherwise.. we’re just shuffling around whalespeak.. and calling that grand
CLIENT OFFERINGS
- EML Signals/Insights/Actions—reports and subscriptions
- Custom Forecasts—covering disruptions/opportunities of emerging media technologies/platforms
- Day-long Immersions at the EML—demos, workshops and curated expert conversations
- Custom Design and Prototyping Services
- Multi-Sponsor Research Groups
APPLIED COMMUNICATIONS
In addition to exploring and evaluating emerging media technologies, the EML will also provide and advise on production services for practical application of the most interesting and effective communication tools encountered in EML research in service of the broader IFTF research community’s communication projects.
Application of new communication systems in the service of conveying IFTF’s research and initiatives will also provide the EML with valuable insights into the opportunities and limitations of the tools.
Experiential communication tools are uniquely suited to provide our clients and community with powerful design, concepting, presentation, simulation and collaboration systems that offer levels of visualization, immersion, agency, embodiment previously unavailable.
The rapidly evolving fidelity and mutli-sensory capabilities of experiential media provide an unparalleled exploration space to simulate future concepts, objects, environments, relationships and scenarios in deeply powerful ways.
notes/quotes from 2 min video linked [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq8koXUNcVY]:
t: basis of learning is experience.. and when talking about vr and ed.. ability to create/share immersive experiences that simulate real life in ways no other media can.. research eval vr tools in ca unis
need most/first: tech as it could be
1:00 – t: pioneering new frontier.. new pedagog practices/opps
darius clarke: what excites me as educator.. students able to see the invisible.. to touch what is untouchable.. to go into world/place they couldn’t go into.. so not just learning a lesson but they were in the lesson.. being the lesson
deeper.. more immersed.. et al if.. in the city.. as the day.. via imagine if we ness
1:310 – t: the internet transformed learning by allowing us to share info in ways previously unthinkable.. now entering new time where we can share experiences that just weren’t possible before..
again.. makes no diff how new/diff ‘experiences’ seem if still in sea world.. hari rat park law et al
need to move way past the supposed to’s of school/work
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from the aims event (feb 2025) where he was speaker [https://events.aims.edu/event/2025-conversation-day-fostering-emerging-technologies-at-aims]:
Toshi is known for his forward-thinking insights into technology’s impact on society and the future of education.
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2 24 26:
hello.
i’m curious how much experimentation/prototyping you guys are doing or thinking about beyond the confines of ie: education, work?
that focus seems to be embedded in all i’ve looked at so far..
‘communication’ comes up a lot in your content.. would love to talk to someone about tech used for communication beyond any confines
response w/in the hour:
While our Emerging Media Lab is no longer active in its original form—we previously maintained a physical lab with hands-on experiences, primarily in the VR/AR space—experimentation and prototyping still inform how we explore emerging technologies and their broader societal implications. That said, we are not a developer studio and don’t build technologies in-house. Instead, our work focuses on research, foresight, and collaborative exploration of how technologies evolve and what they make possible.
Communication technologies are a major area of interest for us, especially how they reshape relationships, identity, community, and collective experience across domains such as governance, healthcare, education, and work.
I’d be curious to hear more about what aspects of communication technology you’re specifically interested in exploring.
Warm regards,
SusanneSusanne Forchheimer
Program Director, Vantage
Institute for the Futuresforchheimer@iftf.org
wrote back:
i’m thinking the tech needs a detox embed if legit/deep communication is desired..
otherwise we’ll just keep perpetuating words/dialogues/experiences of ‘other people’ .. having been so heavily conditioned by assumptions/confinements of societal conventions
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be you. 