What are people’s visions for the future when it comes to digital transformation and sustainability?

Research exploring the intersection of digital transformation and sustainability reveals a growing recognition of the need to integrate digital technologies with environmental and social goals. However, people, their perspectives and experiences must be involved as a shared vision of a certain kind of future that enables acceptance of decisions and allows for innovation. With this in mind, we ask What are people’s visions of the future when it comes to digital transformation and sustainability? To answer the question, we asked people to draw their visions for the future when it comes to the relationship between digital transformation and sustainability – for better or for worse. We build on various strands of research, such as those on mental models and imaginaries, and combine them with strategic foresight approaches. In addition to utopias and dystopias, the drawings convey concrete visions of how a sustainable and digitised life can succeed – or not. In doing so, these images invite reflection on the importance of integrating ethical considerations into the development and deployment of digital technologies.