STREET DOGS

From Brian Knutson at

Edge.org: Five years from now, what will your future self think of your current self? Will you even be the same person?

Considering your future self to be an entirely different person could have serious consequences. People who regard the future self as distinct should logically have no more reason to care about that future self. They should have no reason to save money, maintain their health or cultivate relationships. The extent to which people imagine their future self to be similar to their present self might predict their willingness to consider the interests of the future self.

Applied research suggests that adolescents with greater future self-continuity show less delinquent behaviour and that adults with greater future selfcontinuity act more ethically in business transactions. Future selfcontinuity may even operate at the group level, since cultures that value respect for elders tend to save more, while nations with longer histories tend to have cleaner environments.

Future self-continuity can be manipulated. Simple manipulations include writing a letter to one’s future self, whereas more sophisticated interventions involve interacting with digital renderings of future selves in virtual reality. These interventions can change behaviour and scalable future selfcontinuity interventions may open new channels for enhancing health, education, and wealth.

Increasing automation and shrinking institutional social safety nets are forcing individuals to bear the full burden of providing for their futures. Global temperatures continue to rise to unprecedented levels. Human choice has a hand in these problems. Perhaps increased future self-continuity could generate solutions. Imagine yourself in five years. Did you do everything you could today to make the world a better place? If not, what can you change?