For thousands of years, every generation has looked up at the same night sky. The same stars our ancestors used to navigate oceans, mark seasons, and tell their stories. We might be the last generation who sees them clearly.

In August 2026, an abandoned 4-ton SpaceX booster crashed into the Moon. The 11th human-made object we know of to hit it since the 1990s. Nobody planned it. Space junk has to go somewhere.

Right now there are thousands of satellites in orbit. Soon there will be hundreds of thousands, then millions, most of them up there so a few more people get better Wi-Fi. Three things follow from that, and all three are already starting:

Debris falls back to Earth, and some of it survives the atmosphere and lands on people and property. Working satellites, the ones running GPS, communications, and one day carrying astronauts, get taken out by the junk drifting around them.

And the night sky fills with so much moving light that our children and grandchildren might look up and see only satellites where the constellations used to be.

We treated our rivers and oceans as somewhere to dump things until the mess was too big to fix. We're about to do the same to the sky above our heads. The time to write the rules on liability and clean-up is now, while it's still a problem we're able to solve.

This week's Throw Forward Thursday is about what we lose if we look away, and what we protect if we act.

What would you tell a child who asks why the sky is full of satellites and empty of stars?

More info available at:

• https://futurism.com/space/scientists-warn-new-satellites-eye-damage
  
• https://www.instagram.com/p/DbrYFz-iNr3/
  
• Episode 40: https://youtu.be/QkYR8x_N1VI
  
• Episode 23: https://youtu.be/11puRmR9c_4
  
• Episode 127: https://youtu.be/3BvGdY9GrO8

Here's something that should make you look at your smartphone differently.

It might help save your life in an earthquake.

Not because it can predict the future. But because the tiny accelerometer inside your phone can detect movement. The same technology that notices if someone has fallen can also spot the first micro-tremors of an earthquake.

Same phone. Same pocket. Different purpose.

That's what this week's Tour Guide to the Future is all about: why the best technology is not the cleverest technology, but the technology that gives us real-world benefits when it matters most.

QUESTION: What would be the best use of technology to improve your life right now?

Book Graeme to speak: https://graemecodrington.com/speaking/

🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly ThrowForward Thursday episodes - every week, a look at the future of work, technology, and leadership.

📩 Join the newsletter: https://tomorrowtodayglobal.com/newsletter/

🌐 Website: https://www.graemecodrington.com/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graemecodrington

Here's something that should make you look at your smartphone differently.

It might help save your life in an earthquake.

Not because it can predict the future. But because the tiny accelerometer inside your phone can detect movement. The same technology that notices if someone has fallen can also spot the first micro-tremors of an earthquake.

Same phone. Same pocket. Different purpose.

That's what this week's Tour Guide to the Future is all about: why the best technology is not the cleverest technology, but the technology that gives us real-world benefits when it matters most.

QUESTION: What would be the best use of technology to improve your life right now?

Book Graeme to speak: https://graemecodrington.com/speaking/

🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly ThrowForward Thursday episodes - every week, a look at the future of work, technology, and leadership.

📩 Join the newsletter: https://tomorrowtodayglobal.com/newsletter/

🌐 Website: https://www.graemecodrington.com/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graemecodrington

Here's something that should make you think twice before asking ChatGPT about that headache.

Oxford University ran a study earlier this year. They gave the same medical scenarios to AI chatbots, twice. First with 100 doctors at the keyboard. Then with 1,300 ordinary people.

The doctors got 95% accuracy. The ordinary people got 34%.

Same AI. Same scenarios. Different humans. Why the gap? And what does it tell us about how the rest of us should be using AI at work?

That's what this week's ThrowForward Thursday is all about. I get into the Dunning-Kruger problem with large language models, and why AI in the hands of a non-expert can be a liability rather than a tool.

I also introduce the 5T AI Impact Model, our team at TomorrowToday Global uses to help organisations get past the productivity hype and into the workflow redesign where AI starts to pay for itself.

More details about the 5T AI Impact Masterclass: https://graemecodrington.com/the-5t-ai-impact-masterclass/

And the links to the research:

• ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyepyy82kxo
• ⁠https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news-events/new-study-warns-of-risks-in-ai-chatbots-giving-medical-advice/
  

Meta lost $80 billion on the Metaverse. We called it in 2022. Here's why the same mistake is happening again - right now.

In this week's ThrowForward Thursday, I revisit our April 2022 episode on the Metaverse hype cycle and what it teaches us about separating real technological change from expensive noise. With AI, spatial computing, and the "next big platform" dominating headlines, the ability to distinguish signal from hype is the most valuable skill a leader can have.

What you'll learn:

- Why the Metaverse failed - and what the warning signs actually were

- How to identify genuine technological disruption vs. hype-driven investment

- The thinking framework futurists use to stress-test tech trends

- What today's equivalent of the Metaverse might be

🎯 WATCH NEXT

Throwforward Thursday 48: The Metaverse (full version): https://tinyurl.com/tftepisode48

📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED

TomorrowToday Global: https://tomorrowtodayglobal.com/



Book Graeme to speak: https://graemecodrington.com/speaking/

🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly ThrowForward Thursday episodes - every week, a look at the future of work, technology, and leadership.

📩 Join the newsletter: https://tomorrowtodayglobal.com/newsletter/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graemecodrington/

What do you think is today's Metaverse?

In the 1980s and 90s, people smoked in restaurants while the rest of us were eating. Then we made a change. We literally changed a global culture, made new rules, and people (fairly) quickly changed their habits. We could do that again in public spaces - banning phones. Why not?

I think I know why Donald Trump wants Greenland. But why does everyone else see it as strategically important? It's not what you think. But it will change the world. Listen to this week's episode to find out more.

If robots can be developed to run ultra trail marathons and compete in sporting events, then why should humans even bother anymore?

Maybe it's less about being better than someone else, and more about finding out where one's own limits are. Maybe that's the essence of being human.

In this episode of ThrowForward Thursday we ask how advanced humanoid robots are rewiring not just our view of automation and technology, but also our view of ourselves.

Also, as a bonus... keep an eye on my progress towards running one of the world's toughest trail marathons, the Otter Challenge in October 2026.