Richard Watson

Richard Watson (born 1961) is an English author, lecturer and futurist known for his 2007 book Future Files: a Brief History of The Next 50 Years and for his infographics, especially his Trends & Technology Timeline 2010-2050 and his Table of Disruptive Technologies.

He has written six books and contributed to others and is the founder of What's Next, a website that documents global trends.

He has been a blogger on innovation for Fast Company Magazine and has written about creativity, innovation, and future thinking for a variety of publications including Future Orientation (Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies) and What Matters (McKinsey & Company).

He is a proponent of scenario planning and an advocate of preferred futures, believing it is incumbent upon organisations to create compelling visions of the future and work towards their realisation.

In addition to writing, Watson has worked with the Technology Foresight Practice at Imperial College London and Entrepreneurship Centre at the Judge School at Cambridge University. He has also lectured at London Business School and the King's Fund and has worked with the Strategic Trends Unit at the UK Ministry of Defence, the RAND Corporation, CSIRO, the Cabinet Office and the Departments of Education in the UK and Australia.

Personal life Richard Watson was born in the UK but holds a dual British–Australian citizenship.

Books Translated to Hungarian, Korean, Turkish, Croatian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Arabic, Indonesian, Russian, Persian, Bulgarian, Czech and Thai. Translated to Japanese, Korean, Serbian, Spanish, Thai, Chinese (traditional complex characters).

Watson, Richard (2016), Digital Vs Human: How We'll Live, Love and Think in the Future. Scribe Publishing. Watson, Richard (2024) The Children’s Book of the Future, DK (Dorling Kindersley). Contributions Various (2017). Future Frontiers: Education for an AI World. Melbourne University Press. Various (2019). The Future of Universities Thought Book. University Industry Innovation Network (2019) John Schroeter (2020) After Shock: The World’s Foremost Futurists Reflect on 50 Years of Future Shock―and Look Ahead to the Next 50. (2020). John August Media. Campbell, Aifric (2021). The Love Makers. Goldsmiths Press.