The 2023 Future Perfect 50

The thinkers, activists, and scholars working on solutions to today’s (and tomorrow’s) biggest problems.

At Future Perfect, we’re primarily concerned with ideas — ideas that can change the world, ideas that can make it a better place, ideas that might seem utopian but are actually doable. But ideas only matter so far as they have people behind them, the people who can transform those ideas into the raw materials of a more perfect future.

For this year’s Future Perfect 50 list, we consulted our writers, our sources, and our audience to come up with a collection of the people who exemplify the principles and work we are most excited about. (Read more about how we did it here.)

From researchers grappling with AI risks to activists fighting for animal welfare, from the thinkers pushing the boundaries of progress to the climate advocates protecting the planet, the Future Perfect 50 is a cast of true world-changers. At a moment of global darkness, they are the points of light. —Bryan Walsh

CREDITS

Editorial Lead: Bryan Walsh | Project Manager: Lauren Katz | Editors: Marina Bolotnikova, Cameron Peters, Izzie Ramirez | Reporters: Marina Bolotnikova, Julieta Cardenas, Rachel DuRose, Oshan Jarow, Dylan Matthews, Kelsey Piper, Izzie Ramirez, Sigal Samuel, Kenny Torrella, Bryan Walsh | Copy Editing and Fact-Checking: Elizabeth Crane, Anouck Dussaud, Kim Eggleston, Tanya Pai, Caity PenzeyMoog, Sarah Schweppe | Art Director: Paige Vickers | Illustrator: Lauren Tamaki | Audience: Shira Tarlo | Managing Editor: Natalie Jennings | Special Thanks: Nisha Chittal, Agnes Mazur