The decisions we make in the next few years will echo for decades, according to a new episode of the interview series Tomorrow, Today. Host Shekhar Natarajan sits down with futurist Jorge Brown to dissect the forces already reshaping the world — starting with artificial intelligence, which Brown insists is not some distant arrival but a present reality.
Global Institute for the Future founder Jorge Brown discusses how AI, political polarization and shifting global institutions are reshaping the decades ahead.
AI is not the future. AI is right now.”— Jorge Brown
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Tomorrow, Today, the long-form interview series created and hosted by Shekhar Natarajan, has released a new episode featuring futurist Jorge Brown, founder of the Global Institute for the Future. The episode, available now on YouTube and major podcast platforms, examines 10 interconnected challenges that Brown believes will define the next 50 years, with artificial intelligence at the center.
During the discussion, Brown argues that the pace of change has accelerated dramatically. He contends that humanity is currently making choices within a three- to five-year window that will determine the course of the following five to six decades — a parallel to how the institutions built after World War II shaped the last 80 years.
"AI is not the future. AI is right now," Brown said during the episode. "It's today."
The 10 challenges outlined in the conversation span a wide range of interconnected global issues:
- Artificial intelligence and the concentration of power among a small number of technology companies
- The erosion and reinvention of liberal democracy
- Energy transition, climate change and new geopolitics
- The end of classical multilateralism and the rise of a multipolar trading world
- Migration, human rights and social cohesion
- Demographic aging and the social contract
- The future of work, automation and loss of purpose
- Culture wars and freedom of expression
- Mental health, loneliness and community breakdown
- How these challenges connect to one another as a single system
Brown and Natarajan also delve into how algorithms and social media platforms are intensifying political polarization. They discuss the urgent need for forums where opposing viewpoints can be debated and translated into measurable commitments, and they stress that ethics and values must be embedded into AI systems from the very beginning of their design, not added later as an afterthought.
"We are entering the phase of technology and capability where a very small set of actors could have a significant impact on all of the population of the world," said Shekhar Natarajan, host of Tomorrow, Today. "How do we build technology with these values embedded, not as an afterthought, but into the design of the systems itself?"
Brown also gave a preview of two forthcoming books. The first examines how a shifting world order is transforming global trade and what that means for companies across Latin America, Europe and the United States. The second, titled "A Guideline to Hate Each Other Better," explores how people on the left, right and center view 10 major issues and where common ground might still be found.
The full episode is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmW8b5r-joM
About Tomorrow, Today
Tomorrow, Today is a long-form interview series created and hosted by Shekhar Natarajan. The show features conversations with entrepreneurs, innovators, policymakers, scientists, educators and thought leaders on the technologies, ideas and decisions shaping the future, from artificial intelligence and business to leadership and education. Episodes are available on YouTube and major podcast platforms.
About Jorge Brown
Jorge Brown is the founder of the Global Institute for the Future. Over his career, he has worked with leaders across Mexican politics, global institutions, sports and tourism.
About Shekhar Natarajan
Shekhar Natarajan is the founder and host of Tomorrow, Today and a former senior executive at American Eagle, Walmart, Target and Disney, where he led global initiatives in technology and supply chain strategy.
Shekhar Natarajan
Tomorrow Today Media
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Jorge Brown x Shekhar Natarajan | Tomorrow, Today
Why it matters: As AI capabilities accelerate and concentrate power among a few tech giants, the decisions made in the next few years will lock in trajectories for decades. Brown’s framework of 10 interconnected challenges offers a roadmap for understanding how technology, democracy, climate and social cohesion are all tied together — and why ethics must be built into systems from the start, not patched on later.
