FUTURES Hub

The impact of human futures on Australia’s digital and net zero transitions

Australia aims to be a top ten digital economy and society by 2030 and plans to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Our research investigates how people will participate in shaping these transitions.

The premise of our work is that for Australia’s digital and net zero transitions to be possible, ethical and inclusive, they will need to be aligned with people’s everyday lives, values and practices. At the moment there is a knowledge gap in this respect. In response to this our research brings together two questions: how will the technologies and policies that guide transitions impact everyday life; and how will people creatively improvise to reshape transitions. In answering these questions we aim to  deliver realistic and plausible visions to support planning for ethical and inclusive digital and net zero transitions.

Our research focuses on three key domains of future everyday life: homes, workplaces, and cities. Research will take place across Australia with a focus on New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia.

Who we are: Our growing research team is based in FUTURES Hub at Monash University’s Caulfield campus. We are: Chief Investigator, Laureate Professor Sarah Pink; Research Fellows Dr Melisa Duque and Dr Robert Lundberg; and PhD Candidates Zane Pinyon and Yuzhe Zhu.

Partnering through engaged scholarship: We build relationships with groups and organisations who are likewise concerned with Australia’s possible futures, and who wish to participate in, or join us in other ways, in our research journey. Our engaged scholarship means we have a commitment to listen to the interests and concerns of sectors beyond academia, and to make the findings of our research available through accessible reports, documentary filmmaking, workshops and other appropriate modes of communication and sharing.

FUTURES: Care

FUTURES: Trust

FUTURES: Troubleshooting