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Future Perfect

Finding the best ways to do good. Check out our 2024 Future Perfect list, which presents the 50 thinkers, scientists, activists, and scholars who are working to build a more positive future.

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AI is coming for the laptop class
Future Perfect

Remote work has surged. Is it about to all be automated away?

By Dylan Matthews
AI is coming for the laptop class
Future Perfect

Remote work has surged. Is it about to all be automated away?

By Dylan Matthews
A newly surfaced document reveals the beef industry’s secret climate planA newly surfaced document reveals the beef industry’s secret climate plan
Future Perfect

What the beef industry knew about its environmental impact — and how it spent decades blocking climate action.

By Kenny Torrella
Future Perfect, explainedFuture Perfect, explained
Future Perfect

Welcome to Vox’s home for stories about changing the world.

By Dylan Matthews
Support Future PerfectSupport Future Perfect
Future Perfect

We are always searching for new and innovative ways to fund the work we do and ensure the health of Future Perfect for years to come.

By Vox Staff

The latest in Future Perfect

America — and the media — needs a Covid reckoningAmerica — and the media — needs a Covid reckoning
Future Perfect

Our Covid mistakes did lasting damage. No one wants to talk about it.

By Kelsey Piper
We’ll miss globalism when it’s goneWe’ll miss globalism when it’s gone
Future Perfect

Remember when elites cared about the rest of the world?

By Dylan Matthews
More than 1 million people die of tuberculosis every year. They don’t have to.More than 1 million people die of tuberculosis every year. They don’t have to.
Future Perfect

The author John Green on how Trump cuts to aid will kill TB patients — and what we can do about it.

By Dylan Scott
The AI revolution is here. Can we build a Good Robot?The AI revolution is here. Can we build a Good Robot?
Podcast
The rise of artificial intelligence, explained

The battle over artificial intelligence is just beginning.

By Bryan Walsh
Think twice before you smear beef tallow and salmon sperm on your faceThink twice before you smear beef tallow and salmon sperm on your face
Future Perfect

The hidden cost of animal-based beauty trends.

By Sam Delgado
Trump’s attacks on higher ed could provide a chance to reimagine the universityTrump’s attacks on higher ed could provide a chance to reimagine the university
Future Perfect

Academia runs on underpaid, overworked PhD students. It doesn’t have to.

By Celia Ford
The devastating impact of Trump’s slashing foreign aid, in 3 chartsThe devastating impact of Trump’s slashing foreign aid, in 3 charts
Future Perfect

From HIV to malnutrition, here’s what the loss of 83 percent of USAID programs looks like.

By Jess Craig
The Covid pandemic was catastrophic. But don’t overlook what went right.The Covid pandemic was catastrophic. But don’t overlook what went right.
Future Perfect

From mRNA vaccines to remote work, the technologies that blunted the worst of the pandemic.

By Bryan Walsh
3 ways you can help the people hurt by Trump’s foreign aid cuts3 ways you can help the people hurt by Trump’s foreign aid cuts
Future Perfect

The president took away life-saving aid. You can give some of it back.

By Sigal Samuel
China’s new AI agent Manus calls its own shotsChina’s new AI agent Manus calls its own shots
Future Perfect

But can the rest of us trust it?

By Kelsey Piper
Americans are drinking more cow’s milk. Here’s why that’s a problem.Americans are drinking more cow’s milk. Here’s why that’s a problem.
Future Perfect

For years, dairy milk was plummeting. The vibe shift — and America’s protein obsession — is bringing it back.

By Marina Bolotnikova
The case for using your brain — even if AI can think for youThe case for using your brain — even if AI can think for you
Future Perfect

Digital dependence is reshaping our brains. But we can fight it.

By Celia Ford
Is your grocery store out of eggs? Try these alternatives instead.Is your grocery store out of eggs? Try these alternatives instead.
Future Perfect

The delicious, the decent, and the downright awful plant-based egg substitutes, explained.

By Kenny Torrella
Humanity isn’t asteroid-proof yet. But we’re getting closer.Humanity isn’t asteroid-proof yet. But we’re getting closer.
Future Perfect

How a new asteroid showed Earth’s planetary defense system at work.

By Bryan Walsh
Killing PEPFAR means killing millions of peopleKilling PEPFAR means killing millions of people
Future Perfect

All to save 0.08 percent of the budget.

By Kelsey Piper
One actually good piece of news about eggs, briefly explainedOne actually good piece of news about eggs, briefly explained
Future Perfect

America’s egg industry is starting to address one of its worst problems.

By Kenny Torrella
How do I resist Trump without ruining my life?
Future PerfectThe Highlight

I want to fight rising authoritarianism. But I’m scared of becoming a target.

By Sigal Samuel
Will warning labels on ultra-processed foods make America healthy again?Will warning labels on ultra-processed foods make America healthy again?
Future Perfect

They’re a step in the right direction.

By Jess Craig
Why it still takes days for banks to give you your moneyWhy it still takes days for banks to give you your money
The HighlightThe Highlight

It’s the 21st century — instant bank transfers should be the norm everywhere.

By Dylan Matthews
How factory farming built AmericaHow factory farming built America
Future Perfect

Factory farming’s political and cultural influence, and its sweeping impacts on American life, explained.

By Vox Staff
How beef colonized the Americas
Future Perfect

Beef is tied to my cultural identity through its complicated history. Could the daughter of a cattle rancher ever let it go?

By Izzie Ramirez
The harrowing lives of animal researchers
Future PerfectThe Highlight

Science depends on animal testing. But the work comes at a steep, hidden cost.

By Celia Ford
We’re all drawn to bad news. Here’s how to fight it.We’re all drawn to bad news. Here’s how to fight it.
Future Perfect

Relentless negativity won’t build a better world.

By Bryan Walsh
Why Big Pharma wants you to eat more meat
Future Perfect

The pharmaceutical industry helped build factory farming. Now it’s muddying the debate over meat’s carbon footprint.

By Kenny Torrella
The AI that apparently wants Elon Musk to dieThe AI that apparently wants Elon Musk to die
Future Perfect

X wanted Grok to tell it straight. They didn’t like the result.

By Kelsey Piper
You need to start taking airborne fungal outbreaks seriouslyYou need to start taking airborne fungal outbreaks seriously
Future Perfect

The neglected ways climate change is affecting our health, explained by Valley fever.

By Sam Delgado
What happens to the money when I round up at the register?What happens to the money when I round up at the register?
Explain It to Me

No, they aren’t a scam.

By Jess Craig
The mysterious statisticians shaping how we think about fertilityThe mysterious statisticians shaping how we think about fertility
Future Perfect

Experts were wrong about overpopulation before. Could they be wrong about underpopulation now?

By Dylan Scott
I don’t want to be an angry person like my mom. Is it inevitable?I don’t want to be an angry person like my mom. Is it inevitable?
Future Perfect

I feel intense guilt after getting angry. And if I shrug off that guilt, I worry I’ll become a bad person.

By Sigal Samuel
Trump wants America to shine on AI. DOGE is blundering it.Trump wants America to shine on AI. DOGE is blundering it.
Future Perfect

It’s a vital moment for AI policy. DOGE’s mass firings could trash vital expertise.

By Kelsey Piper
Is AI really thinking and reasoning — or just pretending to?
Future Perfect

The best answer — AI has “jagged intelligence” — lies in between hype and skepticism.

By Sigal Samuel
The rapid development of AI has benefits — and poses serious risksThe rapid development of AI has benefits — and poses serious risks
Future Perfect

Investing in AI safety could help ward off a big threat to humanity.

By Vox Staff
One state’s flawed, desperate new plan to fix its egg shortageOne state’s flawed, desperate new plan to fix its egg shortage
Future Perfect

Nevada is suspending its cage-free standards to free up the egg supply. Experts say it won’t help much.

By Kenny Torrella
Meta’s brain-to-text tech is here. We are not remotely ready.Meta’s brain-to-text tech is here. We are not remotely ready.
Future Perfect

Why we should start caring about the right to brain privacy now.

By Celia Ford
I work in global health. Trump ditching the World Health Organization might be the wake-up call it needs.I work in global health. Trump ditching the World Health Organization might be the wake-up call it needs.
Future Perfect

Here’s what Trump gets right — and wrong — about the WHO.

By Jess Craig
Why Elon Musk offered to buy the OpenAI nonprofitWhy Elon Musk offered to buy the OpenAI nonprofit
Future Perfect

OpenAI’s conversion to for-profit is sketchy. Musk’s $97 billion offer shows why.

By Kelsey Piper
JD Vance accidentally directed us to a crucial moral questionJD Vance accidentally directed us to a crucial moral question
Future Perfect

Just ignore the godawful reading of Christianity he used to get there.

By Sigal Samuel
Trump’s shocking purge of public health data, explainedTrump’s shocking purge of public health data, explained
Future Perfect

All of us will be collateral damage in MAGA’s war on “DEI.”

By Dylan Scott
AI is impersonating human therapists. Can it be stopped?AI is impersonating human therapists. Can it be stopped?
Future Perfect

Exclusive: California has a new plan to put chatbots in their place.

By Sigal Samuel
We can see factory farm pollution all the way from spaceWe can see factory farm pollution all the way from space
Future Perfect

But communities of color face the worst ammonia pollution on the ground, a new study reveals.

By Sam Delgado