Design fiction as critical pedagogy for exploring technology futures in social research

This article argues for and demonstrates the application of design fiction in educational settings to engage an interdisciplinary group of participants from civil society and from academia in an educational setting in critical reflection on digital technology futures. It draws on insights from a series of design fiction workshops that we have facilitated with students and researchers, activists, artists, and other members of civil society in Denmark, Norway, and France. In these workshops, participants imagine, prototype, and critique imagined futures where technologies such as electronic monitoring and facial recognition serve as innovations in domains such as employment, sexual health, and tourism. We demonstrate how humor and playfulness function performatively to enable participants to embody design fiction scenarios and convey these dramatically. The workshops offer key pedagogical opportunities to raise ethical questions about technology futures, encourage self-reflexivity, and reveal to participants the limits of their imagination.