Institute for the Future

The IFTF (Institute for the Future) is a Silicon Valley think-tank dedicated to forecasting the future. It was founded in 1968 as a spin-off of the very influential Silicon Valley think-tank: the RAND CORPORATION, of which the latter initially served the US Military, but later branched into the civilian sector on a global basis. RAND helped to develop the Internet, which had also begun as a military project before becoming a civilian one.

An IFTF Distinguished Fellow in 2018 was the famous UFO and paranormal researcher JACQUES VALLEE, though less well known is his work as a computer scientist. Vallee joined IFTF in the 1970s when he also participated in early Internet development. Vallee co-developed the first computerized map of Mars for NASA in 1963. Vallee served as the real-life model for the fictional UFO researcher LACOMBE in Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. Vallée proposed that there is a genuine UFO phenomenon, partly associated with a form of non-human consciousness that manipulates space and time, and also manipulates us humans. Vallee investigated paranormal phenomena, leading to acquaintances with the psychic spoon bender URI GELLER; NASA astronaut EDGAR MITCHELL; ANDRIJA PUHARICH; HAROLD PUTHOFF; SRI INTERNATIONAL; CIA. For more on these people, see my article “Star Trek, NASA and the Nine” in the New Age section.

IFTF – Board of Directors in 2018 included:
1) Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Vice President, BERIT ASHLA;
2) eBAY Chief Talent Development Officer, MARIANNE JACKSON;
3) GBN (GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK) co-founder LAWRENCE WILKINSON. The GBN helped develop SCENARIO PLANNING, as did RAND. GBN were owned by one of the ‘big four’ professional services networks: DELOITTE. For more on the GBN, see my article “Star Trek, NASA and the Nine”.

Wilkinson co-founded OXYGEN MEDIA along with DISNEY, OPRAH WINFREY and others. Wilkinson lectured at faculties of the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM’s Davos Summit. Wilkinson co-founded COMMON SENSE MEDIA, which describes itself as “the leading independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids thrive in a world of media and technology”. CSM was also founded by JAMES STEYER who also co-founded NEXT GENERATION (climate and children), of which a board member was a CFR board member, STEVEN DENNING (The Brookings Institution, Trustee emeritus).

An IFTF Research Fellow in 2018 was the prominent ‘media theorist’ DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF who collaborated with ‘counter culture’ (aka New Age) leading lights such as TIMOTHY LEARY, ROBERT ANTON WILSON and TERENCE MCKENNA. Rushkoff founded a movement for progressive Judaism, called REBOOT. Religious reform in general is part of the Ruling Elite’s plan for a new, single, world religion/ethic. Rushkoff quit his Facebook account, criticising its’ use of personal data.

An IFTF Senior Researcher in 2018 who promoted the science of games to improve your life (e.g. stress reduction) was JANE MCGONIGAL, who at IFTF was Director of Game R&D. This ties in with the RAND Corporation’s long standing research into GAME THEORY (the science of strategy) to explore economics, political science, psychology, and conflict. McGonigal, a games developer, co-created a game (EVOKE) for the WORLD BANK’s WBI (World Bank Institute). She launched EVOKE at a TED conference and gave a popular talk.

McGonigal admired the ‘collective intelligence’ that can develop during multi-player games but objected to her work being described as GAMIFICATION (Makes you do what companies want you to do), preferring the term GAMEFUL DESIGN (Helps you do what YOU want to do). McGonigal was a Board Director at GAMES FOR CHANGE, supported by Facebook and Microsoft. Her sister, KELLY, was a health psychologist who promoted meditation, mindfulness and yoga.

McGonigal developed her ideas in her book “Super Better” (2015). Her ‘SuperBetter’ technique got sponsorship from the US NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH for a clinical trial that yielded positive results, apparently. Her book got endorsements from SUSAN CAIN (author of “Quiet”) and a security expert and futurist, MARC GOODMAN, who worked for INTERPOL, the UN Counterterrorism Task Force, NATO and the US Government. Goodman worked at Silicon Valley’s SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY, serving as its’ Chair for Policy, Law and Ethics. The Singularity University was co-founded by the futurist and transhumanist promoter, RAY KURZWEIL, with help from NASA and Google.

Goodman founded the FUTURE CRIMES INSTITUTE, based on his bestselling book “Future Crimes”, endorsed by McGonigal and Ray Kurzweil.