Choices: Past. Present. Future.

Some Global Lectures stay with you long after the Audimax has emptied and the final applause has faded. The recent special edition of the ETH Global Lecture Series, Choices, was one of those evenings. Conceived as a tribute to our colleague Chris Luebkeman on the occasion of his retirement from ETH Zurich, this lecture also became a thoughtful reflection on agency, foresight and how the future is shaped by the choices we make.

Chris Luebkeman: choosing to matter

In his lecture, Chris invited us to see choice not as a single decisive moment, but as a continuous and cumulative force shaping individual lives, institutions and societies. Moving between historical moments, professional inflection points and personal stories, he argued that while we do not control all the forces acting on us, we are never without agency.

Drawing on examples ranging from the mid‑19th century to his own journey across engineering, architecture and strategic foresight, Chris showed how many of today’s realities emerged from decisions taken without certainty of outcome. Futures, he reminded us, are rarely inevitable; they are the result of layered choices, made consciously or unconsciously, inherited or hard‑won.

A recurring theme was the idea of “normal”. What we experience as normal, Chris suggested, is deeply contextual; it is shaped by geography, culture, history and circumstance. There is no single baseline from which the future unfolds. This insight lies at the heart of his approach to foresight: not as prediction, but as a disciplined practice of paying attention, identifying weak signals and expanding the range of possible responses.

He also spoke movingly about the role of universities. Beyond advancing knowledge, institutions like ETH Zurich serve as compasses for society: places where difficult conversations about uncertainty, responsibility and long‑term impact can be held thoughtfully. Through the Strategic Foresight Hub and the Global Lecture Series, Chris has helped open such spaces, encouraging more courageous engagement with what lies ahead.

On foresight, bias and collective agency

In conversation with Aaron Maniam, Fellow of Practice and Director of Digital Transformation Education at the University of Oxford, these ideas were sharpened and expanded. Together, we explored what foresight really entails, and what it does not.

Both stressed that foresight is firmly rooted in the present. It is not about forecasting or crystal‑ball gazing, but about creating awareness and preparedness. One idea that resonated strongly was that good foresight should help leaders and institutions avoid being shocked by change. Surprise often triggers reactive decision‑making; preparation preserves optionality and enables more deliberate action.

We also spoke candidly about bias. Neither choice nor foresight is neutral. The goal is not to eliminate bias but to surface it, question it and counterbalance it through collective reflection. Productive discomfort, as Aaron noted, can be a sign that futures work is doing its job.

Finally, we touched on one of the defining choices facing societies today: how to navigate the unequal effects of technological change, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence. While new technologies promise significant gains in productivity, those benefits will not be evenly distributed. Choosing to engage with these tools without addressing their social implications risks deepening existing inequalities.

Chris closed our exchange with a reflection that felt both personal and universal: time is the most finite resource we have. How — and with whom — we choose to spend it shapes not only our own futures, but the world we help bring into being.

Choices was not a farewell, but an invitation: to remain attentive, collaborative and intentional about the futures we continuously co‑create, one choice at a time.

Check out the pictures from the event here: Meet ETH Flickr

And in case you missed it, watch the talk here:

I hope this glimpse encourages you to join us at a future event. I find that with our Global Lecture Series, we begin a new journey every time, giving ourselves pause to reflect on key topics on the global agenda and learning from individuals with remarkable clarity and foresight. I invite you all to come and join us!