Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) remains one of the most debated and polarising topics in the foresight community. On one end of the spectrum, it is seen as the breakthrough that will propel humanity into a new era of intelligence and automation. On the other, it is framed as an existential risk – a force that could surpass human control and reshape civilisation in unpredictable ways.

For foresight practitioners, the challenge is not just to engage with AGI as a technological possibility, but to do so in a way that is both imaginative and strategically relevant. How do we explore AGI’s transformative potential without getting lost in speculative extremes? How can we stretch the boundaries of futures thinking while ensuring that our insights remain practical for business, governance, and society today?That AGI discourse often operates in these extremes presents a significant challenge for the foresight community: how do practitioners stretch the imagination of individuals and organisations while maintaining the business relevance of longterm futures?

To address this issue, we surveyed members of our Foresight Practitioners Network to understand their opinions on AGI: their organisation’s preparedness, knowledge of the field, and perspectives on how the community should best navigate the deep uncertainty of its development.

We then asked foresight experts to weigh in on our findings.

Read the full conversation Bugge Holm Hansen (Head of Technology and Innovation at CIFS), Sofie Hvitved (Head of Media at CIFS), and David Jonker (Head of SAP’s Insights Research Centre).