Speculative Design and Policymaking Panel Discussion

Monday 6th July, 6:00 – 7:30pm 

Jubilee Room
House of Commons
Palace of Westminster

Please RSVP by email through clicking here.

Speakers include:

• Cat Drew, Policy Lab, Cabinet Office

• Tom Wells, Future of Ageing Project, Foresight Office (Department of Business, Innovation and Skills)

• Georgina Voss, Strange Telemetry

Speculative design combines informed, hypothetical extrapolations of an emerging technology’s development with a deep consideration of the cultural landscape into which it might be deployed, to speculate on future products, systems and services. These speculations are then used to examine and encourage dialogue on the impact a specific technology may have on our everyday lives.*

The APDIG are interested in how these debates about emerging technology interact with government policy: how these technologies are deployed, or regulated, by policymakers. Similarly, the creation of design fictions (using diegetic prototypes to suspend disbelief about change) is a technique increasingly used by governments and corporations to imagine, and therefore plan for, different futures. Whilst the findings of speculative design experimentation are intended for a broad audience, this discussion intends to explore the potential for these design methods to influence decisions made at the policy level.

This event is intended to tie in with the AHRC-funded Protopolicy project, of which APDIG are a partner. The project will explore whether design fictions could be used as co-design tool with community groups (interested in ageing, loneliness and social exclusion) to increase their engagement with policymakers.

Please RSVP by email through clicking here.