Robots, Really?

In this episode of The Intentional Spill, Yvette and Frank tell the story behind a question that still lingers in foresight work: “Robots, really?” It was said years ago (half skeptical, half dismissive) after a scenario exercise meant to stretch imagination rather than confirm comfort. And it perfectly captures why foresight so often fails when it’s treated as prediction instead of preparation .

Moving between personal stories, professional missteps, and the rise of today’s AI-saturated world, the conversation explores how scenarios are designed to surface bias, provoke emotional response, and expand our capacity to engage with change before it arrives fully formed. The point was never the robots themselves, but what they represented: dependence on systems we don’t fully understand, and futures we resist until they’re unavoidable.

This Spill invites listeners to reconsider how they respond to unfamiliar futures. Dismissal feels efficient, but it’s often the moment we opt out of intentional evolution. Scenarios aren’t meant to be believed. They’re meant to be felt, wrestled with, and learned from - before reality catches up.

When the future sounds strange, that’s usually the signal.