The Foresight Files
The Foresight Files are fictional stories about the near future of policing — where the boundaries between fiction and reality blur and the outlines of future policing take shape. It is a AI-centric project intended to help police practitioners, policymakers and interested community leaders develop individual and organizational foresight. These stories are created by the authors using large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Claude. The accompanying artwork is also AI-generated. The stories are inspired by real-world events, scientific advances, or forward-leaning discussions. And each include a series of questions to help you reflect on the issues they present and develop your foresight skills.
Storytelling is powerful. Humans have been telling each other stories since they were first able to communicate. Today, we can easily synthesize engaging stories that articulate and stimulate thinking about the near future of policing. We can literally produce stories from tomorrow. And we can do this by harnessing the emerging synthetic creativity between humans and AI.
Fictional short stories about the near future serve as imaginative and creative tools for exploring the predictable and unforeseen challenges policing may face. By crafting scenarios that stretch the boundaries of current experiences, these narratives allow leaders and their followers to grapple with ethical dilemmas, technological advancements, societal shifts, and natural disasters in a controlled, creative environment. This process can equip organizations with a proactive mindset, helping them anticipate possible scenarios and develop adaptive strategies before these situations materialize. These stories not only help prepare officers for the unexpected but also encourage innovative thinking, fostering a culture that is both anticipatory and responsive to change.
“Beyond the Bark”
Beyond the Bark takes readers into a near future where AI finally bridges the gap between humanK9 officers and their canine partners. When a young child is kidnapped, Officer Ben Carter and his Belgian Malinois, Vex, race through a decaying factory guided not just by instinct but by a revolutionary harness that lets them “speak.” What follows is a tense confrontation that tests trust, technology, and the very nature of partnership. This is more than a crime story — it’s a glimpse into how AI could forever transform the bond between officers and their K9s.
“Steel and Grace”
In a burning Los Angeles night of 2035, MARA-19 — a Maternal-Aligned Robotic Agent — leaps without hesitation to save a mother and child, proving that empathy and courage can be coded as deeply as strength and precision. Steel and Grace captures the dawn of a new era in policing, where machines don’t just enforce — they protect, connect, and remind us of our shared humanity.
“We are not Data”
By 2035, Oakland has become a city under the unblinking eye of The Net—a web of surveillance drones, predictive algorithms, and robotic enforcers. When a May Day protest erupts into chaos, Sergeant Malia Cortez leads the charge to contain it. But as the city falls under mechanical order, a defiant movement rises with a single, haunting declaration: WE ARE NOT DATA.
“The Man Who Wasn’t There”
In a city where surveillance sees everything, one man proves he can disappear. The Man Who Wasn’t There explores freedom, control, and the limits of policing in a world where anonymity itself has become a crime.
A Murder of Witnesses
In a future where police use technology to communicate with animals like crows, investigators must confront new ethical, legal, and societal challenges as animal testimony reshapes the boundaries of justice.