Think Forward

We often talk about global risks as if they live somewhere else. Summits, headlines, expert panels, graphs and indexes. Important, yes, but somehow distant from the power bill, the job you’re trying to keep, the neighbour you check in on or the storm that woke you at 3am. That is why I have written Divided on Purpose: Global Risks 2026 – How They Will Affect You. It is written for people trying to make sense of what is happening around them and ahead of them — and wondering what, if anything, they can do. The report sets out ten major risks shaping 2026 - here is what is happening, here is why it matters, and here is how it may reach your street, your job, your whānau, your community. It explains how these risks connect and identifies patterns — and when we understand patterns, we are less easily manipulated and less easily frightened. It also focuses on agency. What you can do to prepare. How you can look after others. How to make your voice heard and how not to become fuel for the “divide on purpose” politics that thrives on anger, misinformation and mistrust. Download a copy here - it might just help.

We live in an age of constant, overlapping crises. We know - and we have known for a while - that the era of a single, isolated incident is over. Today, we face “stacked crises,” where one crisis gives birth to another while it is still ongoing. The AI paradox is that the crisis can be both prevented and exacerbated by the technology - this post looks at the crisis stack I reviewed last month and what it could mean for your Cook Strait ferry crossing this Christmas.

Change is constant, capabilities are galloping ahead and AI agents rule the roost - well almost. This post takes a look at where we are, what the last 60 days of developments have looked like and what's ahead for public relations and communication.

I spent a while feeding imaginary sayings to Google’s AI which then explained them to me with absolute confidence. This post reveals why an ostrich in the pocket is always better flossed — and why we have to question GEO, AIO and the state of truth in 2025.

You’ll frequently hear me say whoever controls the algorithm controls the game. Algorithms decide what is seen and what is hidden, what is amplified and what is erased. They are not neutral - and we need to act.

With the launch OpenAI’s Sora app, we hand over far more than we realise. It promises astonishing things but arrives carrying significant societal risk. This posts looks at the personal, professional and social challenges ahead - and what we need to do.

Something happens and misinformation is first on the scene. What can we do as 'first responders' to mitigate the fall out when realities clash and truth hangs by a thread?

A nip of power, a sip of water: each AI prompt takes almost nothing on its own. But multiplied by billions, those nips and sips become torrents. So how are we going to manage the data drain on our environment - ethically and with care?

Can you beat the bot? Work with language to tell more human stories? Be more human? Join us and see what we can do.

For World PR Day - an open session to help you navigate our chaotic times

Seemingly years in the making, the newly published New Zealand’s Strategy for Artificial Intelligence: Investing with Confidence has turned out to be a disappointing waste of digital dots.

What does value really look like? And how do we demonstrate it — not just in the work we do as practitioners but in the value our organisations bring to the people they serve?