Co-Imagining Sociotechnical Futures

This research study has four interrelated purposes, all broadly related to producing knowledge that supports the anticipatory governance of emerging technologies. This study builds on work in Science and Technology Studies that embraces modes of knowledge production that emerge through critical participation and collaborative engagement with the subjects of ethnographic research. Specifically, we propose to incorporate techniques of collaborative imagination into our ethnographic engagements with subjects in academia, industry, and government who are engaged in technology research and development. Thus, in addition to (and often as a part of) semi-structured interviews and observation, we will work with our subjects to co-create scenario analyses and design fictions that interrogate potential futures that may emerge from their R&D work. Scenario analysis is a method of developing plausible scenarios within a specific domain and timeframe. Design fiction is a blend of science, design, and science fiction, created using 2D and/or 3D visual media, to provoke critical thinking, reflection, and conversation about how specific technologies may be embedded in everyday human practices in near- to mid-range futures. Additional methods and techniques of collaborative imagination may emerge as a result of this collaborative work.

This montage shows a half-day workshop with invited expert Dr. Morgan Benton and the STS Futures Lab, examining the societal dimensions of plausible future trajectories related to IT education.