The limits of our imagination

Abstract

In this paper we explore how design fiction -an increasingly common and relevant strategy within HCI and the Digital Humanities -can be used to get purchase on the future. In particular, we address how design fictional methods allow researchers to construct arguments about feared or dystopian futures within the context of collapse informatics. Fiction, as a research tool, allows us to do several important things with proximal futures: it allows us to adopt a range of different intellectual commitments and values about the future and explore the consequences of those commitments; it allows us to articulate these consequences to a broader public in a format that is more readily consumed and understood than a research paper; and it allows us to insulate ourselves from the emotional consequences of perceived proximal dystopias by creating space to "play with" and explore alternative visions of the future. We argue that paying attention to how popular culture represents scenarios of collapse can provide insight into how to express and communicate the challenges and potential solutions framed by the LIMITS community to a broad public audience.

Transition Discourse, Food, and Computing within Limits

“…Similarly, we might invent claims for the present, such as: "Today, individuals should…. " This latter approach, focused on actions in the current moment, is followed by the Great Turning; thus, it avoids the need to foresee the future in detail, a difficult or impossible task even with methods for creative and insightful envisioning [11,65].…”

These Aren’t the Autonomous Drones You’re Looking for: Investigating Privacy Concerns Through Concept Videos

“…Thus, design fictions embody values and ideas (consciously and unconsciously) that may respond to or instigate broader discourses (Tanenbaum et al, 2012). Recent work uses the lens of design fiction to analyze practices and artifacts (Tanenbaum et al 2012;J. Tanenbaum, Pufal, & K. Tanenbaum, 2016;Wong & Mulligan, 2016).…”

Envisioning Post-Apocalyptic Futures: A Speculative Design Toolkit for Non-Designers

“…Distant futures thinking features three barriers: all speculation is based on our memory in some form, distant futures become abstract, and futures thinking typically features a disconnection between present and future versions of ourselves (Chiu, 2012;Meyer et al, 2019;Oettingen et al, 2018). Considering environmental futures introduces three additional barriers: current societal norms being projected into the future, the scale of the ecological crisis being paralyzing, and the dismissal of the future in favor of tackling mitigation issues today (Park, Williams, & Zurba, 2020;Tanenbaum et al, 2016;Herbet, 2021;Hajer & Versteeg, 2018). These barriers are largely psychological in nature, and without a clear path or process they can be difficult to overcome, potentially preventing non-designers from meaningfully engaging with speculative design methods (Hajer & Versteeg, 2018).…”

“…In addition to these barriers, post-apocalyptic environmentalists also face barriers specific to the context of environmental future thinking. These barriers are distinctly different because envisioning environmental futures forces a person not only to think about themselves and their future role in society, but how the world itself will shift and change around them, something that is largely uncontrollable (Tanenbaum et al, 2016;Herbert, 2021). This leads to three additional issues to consider.…”

“…This leads to three additional issues to consider. First, individuals often get anxious and overwhelmed when thinking of environmental futures, as the sheer scale of the ecological crisis becomes paralysing (Park, Williams, & Zurba, 2020;Tanenbaum et al, 2016). The overwhelming nature of the ecology crisis is not new.…”