This course examined the interplay of ecological, cultural, and digital transformations amidst a climate emergency, emphasizing the need to prioritize cultural over economic value. It explored how language shapes perceptions of technology, the hidden environmental costs of digital infrastructures, and the biases embedded in AI systems. Addressing the prevalence of misinformation, it highlighted the role of storytelling in fostering informed and imaginative futures. The Digital Design Lab applied design fiction methodologies, culminating in a ‘pop-up bizarre bazaar.’ Our group focused on the future of AI in healthcare in Taipei City, crafting artifacts like CASS and D-Time to reflect near-future technologies, in a space promoting creativity, collaboration, and critical discourse.
Context: Plurality of Futures
In a world grappling with a climate emergency and polycrisis, the interweaving of ecological, cultural, and digital transformations challenges us to reconsider the very frameworks that shape our societies. The foundation of society is plagued with extractivism. We are constantly looking for the value in resources but only in the monetary sense, we must shift our priorities from economic to cultural value otherwise we risk losing the resources altogether.
Perception: Language Shapes Society
The metaphors and narratives embedded in digital technologies influence how we perceive power, algorithms, and data, prompting critical design practices to reveal and reimagine these unseen dynamics.
In this lesson we were invited to explore different examples of “Bad Metaphors” to inform our class discussion on language. A metaphor is more than a figure of speech used for comparison, it is a dynamic tool used to shape our societal understanding of a concept. Many words are misappropriated to create metaphors we use to describe technology leading us to confuse our actual understanding of their impact.
Materiality: The Hidden Costs of Technology
Beneath the ethereal veneer of digital culture lies a tangible infrastructure—data centers, AI systems, and e-waste—demanding urgent attention to their environmental sustainability and socio-technical implications. The common use of AI systems like Chat GPT in everyday life has profound impacts on the environment, the quick response time blurs our perception of the energy usage behind each response.
Our group explored the article Digital Sustainability: A Fog to Come by Gautheir Raussilhe. We discussed greenwashing which is only one layer of masks that hide unsustainable practices.
Temporality: By Who, for Who
The temporality of digital technologies prompts us to examine the tension between accelerated crises and the need for slow, intentional adaptation, while also questioning who creates these technologies and for whom. AI systems, shaped by human inputs at specific moments in time, are not inherently impartial or objective providers of information.
Reality: Misinformation and Curated Truths
In the age of pervasive screens, where misinformation and curated truths dominate, rethinking reality through media and storytelling becomes essential for cultivating informed and imaginative futures. We must emphasize and understand the importance of valid sources bringing us back to our previous question “by who, for who?”
Digital Design Lab: Protovideo and Bazaar
This final project employed design fiction and critical design methodologies to inspire reflection and debate on societal, cultural, and ethical issues within the context of digital cultures and the climate emergency. Its objectives included challenging assumptions, crafting stories of change, promoting critical thinking, and imagining alternative futures. The lab culminated in a ‘pop-up bizarre bazaar,’ where groups presented collaborative and creative interpretations of their learnings through artefacts and prototype videos, fostering critical discourse. This format encouraged imagination, creativity, and collaboration among group members from diverse backgrounds, culminating in a whole-class discussion during the final bizarre bazaar.
Our group focused on exploring significant changes in the relationship between energy, decisions, and technologies such as IoT, AI, and HealthTech for citizens in Taipei City, Taiwan. In our prototype video, we examined the future of AI in healthcare as a potential solution to address healthcare worker shortages in Taiwan. We explored the increasing integration of AI into society and projected several potential futures for this technology within the healthcare sector.
- As a team (myself, Michal Modelski and Sanjaykumar) we created 4 items:
- CASS, a wearable card for doctor’s weekly allotment of treatment with AI
- Pills, a play on medicating to fix any ailment
- D-Time, a wearable “fitness” band that notifies you as you do things to your body that affect your death time
- X-Vision, a VR headset allowing you to watch other people’s lives in real time
We recognized that the future of healthcare AI is already unfolding, so the items we “sold” were intentionally chosen to reflect technologies and tools that feel close to becoming part of our reality. This exercise emphasized creativity—repurposing discarded materials to rapidly craft artifacts for sale—and collaboration, as we worked together to quickly reach a shared vision for what to create within a limited time frame.
