Jerome C. Glenn (born August 9, 1945) is a
futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
who serves as the executive director of the Millennium Project. He has been the executive director of the American Council for the
United Nations University
The is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve list of global issues, global issues related to Human development ...
(1988–2007) and the deputy director of Partnership for Productivity International.
[Future of Cities](_blank)
''Ljubljana Forum'' 2011
Early life
Glenn graduated from
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
with a BA in Philosophy (1968) and
Antioch University New England
Antioch University New England is a private graduate school located in Keene, New Hampshire, United States. It is part of the Antioch University system, a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) institution that includes campuses in Seattle, Washington; ...
with an MA in Teaching Social Science where he created Futuristic Curriculum (1971). In 1972 Glenn invented the
Futures Wheel, a new method of brainstorming about the future, and in 1973 he coined the term "futuring."
He was a
Peace Corps Volunteer 1968 to 1970 focused on how
tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions.
Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...
and management can be used to combat
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...
; his efforts led ''Saturday Review'' to label Glenn as one of America's most gifted leaders in a 1974 article.
Career
Jerome (Jerry) Glenn was the SYNCON coordinator for The Committee for the Future (1973-1975) and a founding partner of Future Options Room (FOR) in 1975 with Roy Mason and Scott Dankman Joy. FOR was one of the first futures consulting firms and had
Alvin Toffler
Alvin Eugene Toffler (October 4, 1928 – June 27, 2016) was an American writer, futurist, and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on th ...
,
Herman Kahn
Herman Kahn (February 15, 1922 – July 7, 1983) was an American physicist and a founding member of the Hudson Institute, regarded as one of the preeminent futurists of the latter part of the twentieth century. He originally came to prominence ...
, Ted Gordon, and other leading futurists on its board. Glenn helped to craft the section of the
SALT II
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds of ...
treaty (1979) that prohibited the
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
from deploying its
Fractional Orbital Bombardment System
A Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) is a warhead delivery system that uses a low Earth orbit towards its target destination. Just before reaching the target, it deorbits through a retrograde engine burn.
The Soviet Union first develop ...
. In 1983 he created CARINET, a computer network that
CGNET Services International later acquired, and through CARINET he introduced data packet switching to numerous countries in the developing world. In 1996 Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon wrote a report in cooperation with the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
and the Futures Group (rebranded as
Palladium International
Palladium (also known as "The Palladium Group", "Palladium Holdings" or "Palladium International") is an international development sector advisory, management and implementation firm, representing the combination of seven prior companies: GRM Int ...
) about the feasibility of establishing a futures
think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
; later that year he co-founded the Millennium Project, an organization that evaluates 15 global challenges to the future of humanity. He authors an annual publication, ''State of the Future,'' on behalf of the Millennium Project, and in the book he uses a compilation of various methodologies in order to ensure effective forecasting. As Director of the Millennium Project he consults governments, organizations, and corporations about his forecasting methodology and on other issues, such as defense and technology. His work has been cited over 3,300 times according to Google Scholar.
Futures Research Work
* African Futures Scenarios 2025, and UNDP workshop at the UN (1994)
* Millennium Project Feasibility Study final report (1995)
* Global Issues/Strategies four-round Global Lookout (Delphi) study (1996)
* Lessons of History (1997)
* Global Opportunities and Strategies Delphi (1997)
* Definitions of Environmental Security (1997)
* Futures Research in Decisionmaking (and checklist) (1998-99)
* Exploratory Scenarios (1998)
* Global Normative 2050 Scenario (1998)
* Environmental Security Threats and Policy Leadership (1998)
* Factors Required for Successful Implementation of Futures Research in Decision Making (1999)
* Current/Potential UN military doctrine on Environmental Security (1999)
* Six Alternative Year 3000 Scenarios (1999)
* S&T Issues over the next 25 years (2000)
* Future Technological Implications for Society and the UN System (2000)
* World Leaders on Global Challenges; UN Summit (2001)
* Environmental Crimes in Military Actions and the International Criminal Court (ICC)––UN Perspectives (2001)
* Management Implications of Future S&T 2025 Issues (2001)
* New Military Environmental Security Requirements 2010-2015 (2001)
* Conunterterrorism Scenarios; Scenarios, Actions, and Policies (2001-2002)
* Global Goals for the year 2050 (2002)
* Future S&T Scenarios 2025 (2002)
* Emerging Environmental Security Issues for Future UN Treaties (2002)
* Monthly Reports: Emerging Environmental Security Issues (2002-2011)
* Middle East Peace Scenarios (2002-04)
* Early Warning System for Kuwait Oil Company (2003-04)
* Nanotech Military R&D Health/Env Research Prevention Priorities 2004-05)
* Future Global Ethical Issues (2004-05)
* Global Energy Scenarios (2006-07)
* South Korea SOFI (2006)
* Future of Learning and Education 2030 (2007)
* Global Climate Change Situation Room for Gimcheon, South Korea (2007-2008)
* Conceptual design for global energy collective intelligence (GENIS) (2008)
* Status of Government Future Strategy Units (2008)
* RTDelphi for UNESCO World Water Report (2008)
* WFUNA Human Rights (2008)
* Decision Criteria Evaluation of Global Environment Facility (2008)
* South Korea SOFI and South African SOFI (2008)
* Early Warning System PMO Kuwait (2008-2009)
* Potential Future Elements of the Next Economic System (2009)
* UNESCO World Water Scenarios project (2009)
* Future of Ontologists (2009)
* Future Hopes and Fears: a Kuwait Perspective (2010-2011)
* Latin America 2030 Scenarios (2009-2011)
* Egypt 2020 (2010)
* Changes to Gender Stereotypes (2011)
* Azerbaijan SOFI (2011)
* Future Arts, Media, and Entertainment: Seeds for 2020 (2011)
* Cooperatives 2030: Factors Impacting Future of Cooperatives and Business (2012)
* Egypt’s national Synergetic Information System (ECISIS) (2013-16)
* Hidden Hunger: Unhealthy Food Markets in the Developing World (2013)
* Vulnerable Natural Infrastructure in Urban Coastal Zones (201
* FUTURES Dictionary/Encyclopedia (English and Spanish) (2014)
* SIMAD and Lone Wolf Terrorism Counter Strategies (2014)
* Czech Rep., Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Visegrad Region SOFIs (2014-2015)
* Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Context of Climate Change (2015-16)
* Pre-Detection of Terrorism Strategies RTDelphi, NATO Workshop (2015-17)
* Future Work/Tech Real-Time Delphi Studies (9 RTDs 2015-2017)
* National Strategy Workshops (30) on the Future of Work/Technology (2017-2019)
* Work/Technology 2050 : Scenarios and Actions report (2020)
* COVID-19 Three USA Scenarios (using 5 RT Delphi studies for input) (202
* Future developments and new industries EY (2021)
* Robots 2050 (2022)
* Future of Life Institute competition Artificial General Intelligence 2045 (2022)
* Five UN Foresight Elements of Our Common Agenda; Results of a Real-Time Delphi Study (2022)
* AGI Governance Issues: 55 AGI experts views on 22 questions (2023)
* AGI Regulations and Governance models: RT Delphi of 299 from 60 countries (2024)
Opinions
Glenn believes nations should seek synergetic relations with others in addition to the traditional focus on completive advantage. He also believes that horizontal organizational structures can sometimes be more effective than vertical ones. He declared, "The future of management is not based on a hierarchical structure, but on connecting different lines of action through nodes." According to Glenn, such human cooperation is necessary in order to create collective intelligence. Consequently, he has praised Wikipedia as a model for how to use international cooperation as a way to foster collective intelligence.
Glenn also argues that the 15 global challenges that he identifies are all interrelated. From his perspective, improvements in one area (such as access to clean water) will lead to advances in others (such as the rich-poor gap). Hence, Glenn believes that these issues need to be solved simultaneously. His preferred future is Conscious-Technology Civilization with a Self-Actualization Economy. Glenn has also referred to the future of Africa: "Many tribal power zero-sum games will continue, but eventually, the African Union will become more effective and help the more peaceful development of the continent."
References
External links
The Millennium Project
Global Futures Intelligence System
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenn, Jerome C.
American futurologists
1945 births
Living people
American University alumni
Antioch University New England alumni