Outlook 2026: Four Major Shifts to Watch 1. Polycrisis: cascading crises in a connected world Polycrises emerge from the increasing global interconnectedness of social, geopolitical, economic, technological and environmental developments. T... Society Strategic Foresight Sustainability Technology Jan 15, 2026
Dennis Herhausen: "If you want to be relevant to everyone, you're not relevant to anyone" How do brands create authentic touchpoints when an ever-increasing amount of content is artificial? Dennis Herhausen : Authenticity is not created through more content, but through the deliberate redu... Society Technology Jan 7, 2026
The GDI reading list for 2025 As the year draws to a close, we've put together a carefully chosen selection of books that particularly impressed our researchers and staff. From views on the meaning of life and cultures revolving a... Food Health Retail Society Sustainability Technology Dec 16, 2025
Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim – from clickbait to more complex content Our minds are bombarded by social media shorts, automatically summarised AI responses and pithy messages. Nuance and fine distinctions rarely cut through the information overload. Yet, complex issues ... Society Technology Dec 10, 2025
Building trust in the age of AI When was the last time you saw an original piece of content that really blew you away? Authenticity is often lost amidst a deluge of AI-generated product images, interchangeable claims and polished co... Society Technology Nov 19, 2025
Cory Doctorow: 'enshittification' or why platforms became useless When was the last time you looked at photos of your closest friends on Facebook? And how many links in Google's search results showed what you were actually looking for? Cory Doctorow, an author, tech... Retail Society Technology Nov 4, 2025
Nicholas Christakis: "AI is changing our interpersonal interaction too" AI assists us in everyday life, but it can improve human performance in collective challenges, such as coordination or cooperation, too. Nicholas Christakis, a Professor of Social and Natural Science ... Society Technology Oct 15, 2025
Future Skills: 'Wanting' – the skill of the future The study « Future Skills » study by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute distinguishes between three skill categories: knowing, wanting and doing. Knowing is required to understand actual situations – w... Society Technology Oct 2, 2025
Hyperconnectivity – between the conflicting priorities of convenience and control Switzerland is having a second attempt at introducing the e-ID. It promises to eliminate excessively complex administrative procedures, enable electronic signatures, allow bank accounts to be opened a... Society Technology Sep 23, 2025
AI in retail: from management potential to customer benefits What drove the GDI to conduct the study ? Johannes Baur: When we decided on the focus of our new retail study, AI was omnipresent – new forecasts were constantly being generated, from a possible doubl... Society Technology Jul 30, 2025
Daniel Susskind: "Education is only useful if there is still enough work for everyone" In a world in which work is shaped by technological progress, great adaptability is just as important as qualifications. Daniel Susskind believes that education alone is only useful if there is still ... Technology Jul 1, 2025
Nicholas Christakis: 'AI could significantly restrict human collaboration' Friends, work colleagues, spouses and neighbours - we are all part of social networks. We are connected in an almost undecipherable network by countless people in our immediate and remote environments... Retail Technology Apr 22, 2025