LocationsExperiential installation offers a glimpse into possible futures
Introducing Blue Marble
September 18, 2024
UNDP's Blue Marble interactive thought experiment that encourages us to update and enlarge our thinking on international cooperation.
Photo: UNDP/Raja Venkatapathy
Blue Marble is built upon the signals of change identified by UNDP staff members around the world and compiled in the Signals Spotlight. Blue Marble extrapolate signals into the new forms and functions of a speculative multilateral organization. The intent of Blue Marble is to open up more possibilities about reshaping our global institutions to be truly responsive to the complex, interconnected challenges of our time.
The iconic blue marble photo, taken in 1972 during NASA's Apollo 17 space mission, showed us the Earth as its inhabitants had never seen it before; fragile, and at the same time connected to a vast cosmos. It changed the way humans thought about their home planet and energized the early environmental movement.
UNDP's Blue Marble interactive thought experiment builds on that legacy of radically altered viewpoints and encourages us to update and enlarge our thinking, reframing international cooperation to include humans and the intelligence of all life forms.
The iconic blue marble photo, taken in 1972 by crew members of the Apollo 17 space mission, changed the way humankind thought about the earth and supercharged the environmental movement..
Photo: NASA/Ron Evans or Harrison Schmitt
What if Mother Nature could bill countries and companies when they damaged her health? Blue Marble envisions a reorganization of the global development system around planetary health. At its core is the Uncertainty Fund, which positions nature as key to the global economy. It imagines ecosystems having their own bank accounts, where nations and companies make deposits not just in currency, but in planetary health - such as expanding forested areas or adopting sustainable agricultural. Conversely, actions that harm the environment result in automatic withdrawals or penalties. Blue Marble utilizes the Planetary Health Index (PHI), which provides real-time insights into the health of the planet and all its constituents. This marks a shift from an extractive economic logic that depletes natural resources, to a regenerative one that is underpinned by the health of the planet.
UNDP's Blue Marble interactive thought experiment encourages us to enlarge our thinking to include humans and the intelligence of all life forms.
Photo: UNDP/Raja Venkatapathy
"Blue Marble sparks our imagination. Rights for nature, bank accounts for ecosystems, multi-species justice - these strange and wonderful ideas inspire us to imagine how we can create better futures. Better choices for current and future generations."- Narue Shiki, Head, Strategy and Futures Team UNDP Executive Office
How can the future be better for all living things?
What can bees and mycelium, or fungus networks tell us about how to build better societies? Blue Marble reimagines the multilateral system not as a rigid, hierarchical structure, but as a decentralized, interconnected network, like the mycelium that support forests. It introduces the Mycelium Network Interface (MNI), a fusion of biotechnology and environmental monitoring that allows humans to tap into nature's own communication and intelligence networks but also help rethink global tax systems for resilience and not extraction. The MNI's sensors, with their thin, wire-like tendrils, extend into the soil, interfacing directly with underground fungal networks often called "nature's internet". These threads, connecting plants and trees, carry chemical and electrical signals which sensors interpret. The network gathers real-time data on forest health, soil conditions, and ecosystem dynamics. It harnesses fungal networks as a living supercomputer, solving complex problems related to climate modeling, resource allocation and biodiversity management.
Traditional models of global cooperation are no longer fit for purpose in the face of the overlapping crises that define our present.
Photo: UNDP/Raja Venkatapathy
Expanding the conversation
If there was a multi-species translator, what would animals say and how would their expertise change decisions we make? Blue Marble introduces the Multi-Language Inter-species Interpreter (MLII), which enables humans to communicate with animals and plants by translating their unique languages into one that all species can understand. It uses data processing and machine learning to analyze communication and behaviour patterns from various species, integrating research on vocalizations, infrasound, biochemical signals, body language, and ground vibrations. It allows non human species to exercise their agency & par take in design of collective actions. This technology reshapes our approach to development and humanitarian work, shifting from a human-centric model to a multi-species perspective. With the MLII, humans can incorporate the needs, knowledge, and perspectives of other species into decision-making. Urban planners might consult local bird populations on how provide nesting sites, or agriculturalists could work with soil microbes to develop sustainable farming. MLII challenges us to consider the impact of our actions on all life forms and to build a world that recognizes that human thriving requires that all species thrive along with us.
Blue Marble introduces the Multi-Language Inter-species Interpreter which enables humans to communicate with animals and plants by translating their unique languages into one that all species can understand.
Photo: UNDP/Raja Venkatapathy
Fresh responses
Traditional models of global cooperation were built for a different world—one that was more stable and predictable. They are no longer fit for purpose in the face of the overlapping crises that define our present.
We need to orchestrate intelligence from many different sectors, disciplines and entities to come up with fresh responses to multi-dimensional issues. And we need to envision radically different futures for our multilateral institutions.
The Blue Marble installation invites humans to collaborate with other intelligent forms to address complex challenges of water scarcity, climate change, and conflict, using novel data, alternative forms of capital, and new types of financing.
Photo: UNDP/Raja Venkatapathy
“The Blue Marble reimagines a world, where every being is interconnected and lives together in harmony. Ecological damages are not just mitigated but actively compensated, where our institutions can quickly adapt and respond to challenges efficiently. This is our new future where the voice of every living being is heard and acted upon.”- Francine Pickup, Deputy Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP
The Blue Marble interactive installation invites humans to collaborate with non-humans to address complex challenges of water scarcity, climate change, and conflict, using novel data, alternative forms of capital, and new types of financing.
Blue Marble is an invitation to step into an alternate future of global cooperation. What could it look like? What new logic would drive it? What do we need it to be?
Because to build a different future, we must first imagine it.
Check out more at www.bluemarble.world
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
UNDP's Futures & Strategy and Strategic Innovation Unit is working with the UN Futures Lab with investment from the Governments of Denmark & Türkiye to inspire visitors to the exhibit in September at UN Headquarters in New York to imagine their own ideas of how new forms of intelligence can create alternative futures.
Blue Marble also builds upon the signals of change identified by the 2024 Signals Spotlight report from UNDP’s Futures & Strategy.
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Thanks to the government of Denmark for a decade-long investment in UNDP's innovation work.
The Blue Marble Exhibition will feature at the Istanbul Innovation Days (IID) 2025, exploring emerging directions in institutional innovation, in collaboration with the Institutional Architecture Lab. The IID is a collaboration between UNDP and the Government of the Republic of Türkiye.
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