design fiction

whereas science fiction “..wants to invoke the grandeur and credibility of science for its own hand-waving hocus-pocus” he was more focused at the time on the tactile and practical implications of emergent technologies. He referred to this as ‘design fiction’, which he described as a practice that “sacrifices some sense of the miraculous, but..move

What we need are visions of the future of technology that are values-driven, but we don’t need just design fictions. We need business model fictions, engineering feasibility study fictions, interop protocol specification fictions, investment return fictions.

Paradoxically, the most reliable method to envision and plan for futures, isn’t just studying and extrapolating scientific facts, historical developments, psychology and demography, but by building stories beyond our wildest imagination.

Sci-fi prototyping allows us to creatively explore and iterate how technology and social developments can shape and be shaped by the people who use it and explore its implications on the everyday lives of people.

The difference between a story and a scenario is the narrative arc. Stories are built around a main character the reader will sympathise with. Fictional stories have a kind of creative freedom that scenario’s do not have. This freedom allows creators ánd readers to explore the impact of technologies and developments on the daily lives of people (an

science-fiction prototypes are imagined laboratories based on (scientific) fact, that challenge creators ánd readers to critically reflect on the impact of science and emerging technologies and on the social and emotional responses of the world - including themselves. It offers a great tool to envision possible and hopeful futures, and could be an