Maria Pfeifer (AT) is Key Researcher for Future Narratives, where she investigates the question, how stories about the futures can change the here and now. Other thematic interests lie in Art Thinking, art-inspired innovation, Data Art and Science and the collaboration between art and science. She studied art, comparative literature and cultural studies in Vienna and has been working for the Ars Electronica Festival and Futurelab on and off since 2011, and since 2016 as a steady member of the Futurelab’s interdisciplinary team.

She is particularly interested in the potential social impact of future technologies-such as artificial intelligence, big and small data, automated driving, virtual reality-beyond their direct fields of application. Research projects she has been involved in include topics such as Work of the Future, Ethical AI, Automated Environments, Future Skills, Speculative Design & Artistic Strategies in Futures Research.

Since 2022, she is also a member of the Future Panel Oberösterreich, the interdisciplinary advisory board of the Oö. Zukunftsakademie.