Futures designer Nick Foster spent decades helping tech companies create products many of us didn’t even know we wanted. As the head of design at Google X — a.k.a. Alphabet’s “Moonshot Factory,” which is now known simply as “X” — he led teams working on brain-controlled computer interfaces, intelligent robotics, and even neighborhood-level nuclear fusion. He also designed emerging technologies for Apple, Sony, Nokia and Dyson. But in his debut book, “Could, Should, Might, Don’t: How We Think About the Future,” Foster argues for a more measured approach to thinking about big disruptive technology, like A.I.

Kara sits down with Foster to discuss: 

• The pitfalls of the current AI hype cycle 
  
• Why executives need to think critically about how everyday people are using AI 
  
• How companies can more thoughtfully adopt the technology. 
  
• Why everyone should to take a more “mundane” approach to thinking about the future 
  

This episode was recorded live at Smartsheet ENGAGE 2025 in Seattle. 

Chapter markers:
00:00 Introduction
01:33 Why we're bad at thinking about the future
11:54 Could futurism
17:13 Should futurism
22:30 Might futurism
24:48 Don't futurism
28:24 Foster's suggestion for thinking about the future and AI
33:51 AI and business
37:33 What happens when machines replace people
41:08 The unintended consequences of rapid AI adoption
44:00 Are we in an AI bubble?
46:33 What does a healthy relationship with AI look like?

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