Hybrid Harmonious Society 2050 is a participatory futures research translating interdisciplinary perspectives into 2050 scenarios and strategic opportunities for Honda.
ROLE
Research & Strategy Associate
PARTNERS
Honda Research Institute × The Ohio State University
DURATION
2023
METHODS
Expert interviews, participatory foresight, co-design, synthesis, scenario planning, strategic storytelling
PARTICIPANTS
53
Challenge
How might Honda contribute to a future society where people, technology, and nature coexist responsibly, without prescribing a single technological future?
Approach
We combined global expert perspectives, interdisciplinary workshops, participatory speculation and organizational feedback to build and prioritize future scenarios.
Outcome
More than 70 future stories were synthesized into 18 themes, selected scenarios, and two films designed for public dialogue and internal strategic reflection.
The project treated 2050 as a space for organizational learning, not as a prediction exercise.
What role could Honda play in enabling a hybrid harmonious society in 2050?
RESEARCH DESIGN
Each phase deliberately narrowed a broad question into evidence, scenarios, organizational dialogue, and communicable futures.
WORKSHOP DESIGN
Each phase deliberately narrowed a broad question into evidence, scenarios, organizational dialogue, and communicable futures.
01
ONLINE INTERVIEWS • HRI – US / EU / JP
14
INTERVIEEWS
Interviews with Honda researchers
02
99P LABS
20
IN-PERSON PARTICIPANTS
10 HONDA • 10 OSU
Interdisciplinary co-design workshop
Explore the methods archive
03
ONLINE WORKSHOP • HRI – EU
8
HRI RESEARCHERS
Focused online workshop with Honda Research Institute – EU
Explore the methods archive
Synthesis and Prioritization
The team moved from qualitative material to a focused portfolio without treating any single workshop output as a prediction.
Scenario Framework: Social Levels × Geographic Scales
The matrix prevented the portfolio from collapsing into only individual-product futures or only global abstractions.
Review and Prioritization
Honda researchers reviewed developed scenarios and annotated where Honda might or might not play a role.
| STRONG SIGNAL | Harmony with nature and socialized mobility appeared repeatedly across activities and scenarios. |
| RECURRING SIGNAL | Participants framed trustworthy AI as a supporter of agency, judgment, and shared values. |
| EMERGING SIGNAL | Collective learning and ancestral knowledge widened the conversation beyond products and infrastructure. |
Findings and Implications
These are not forecasts. They describe futures participants considered meaningful and the strategic questions those futures create for organizations like Honda.
Speculative films
The project used different narrative forms for cultural provocation and internal strategic reflection.
Cultural narrative from 2050
A public film designed to feel like scrolling through a future social-media feed.
Strategic perspective for Honda
The confidential film translated selected scenarios into a concise internal narrative for the Honda Global Board.
Organizational Impact
The scenarios helped move an expansive philosophical question into concrete organizational conversations, follow-on research, and future innovation planning.
Scenarios selected
A broad portfolio was narrowed into coherent stories suitable for discussion and strategic storytelling.
Leadership dialogue
The research outcomes were presented to the Global CEO and Japan leadership of HRI, receiving strong recognition as its potential to shape Honda’s long-term strategic direction.
Follow-on foresight work
The frameworks informed new initiatives, including adapting participatory futuring activities for younger participants.
Innovation-ecosystem planning
The research contributed to continued work with Ohio State’s Center for Innovation Strategies on future-ready organizational models.