As design thinking evolves we are beginning to develop a clearer idea of its relationship to other domains of thinking and in particular its specific ontological nature. Here we consider design’s special relationship to the future and how concepts of anticipation, probabilism and prospectivity underpin a new understanding of design’s relationship to cross-domain collaboration potential. In effect we discuss how design cares for the future of transformation in an era where rapidly advancing technologies via exponential technological developments are challenging human-machine interactions. Probabilistic knowledge emerges as an ontological reality for addressing the intrinsically abductive nature of future design research. Ultimately this approach implies a different form of knowing and aims to position design research as the discipline better prepared for addressing the future.