Exploring Technological Futures in Context: An Experience Report on Speculative Design and Generative AI in Undergraduate Education
Abstract
Introduction: This paper reports on a Speculative Design workshop using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), conducted within an undergraduate Information Systems course. Objective: To foster critical reflection on possible technological futures through scenario creation and the analysis of sociotechnical implications. Methodology: The workshop followed a framework involving the mapping of sociotechnical ecosystems, the use of GenAI for scenario generation, and critical analysis based on the Theory of Technological Mediation. Results: The activity supported students’ imagination and refection, revealing tensions between enthusiasm and demotivation regarding the use of GenAI.
Keywords:
Sociotechnical Ecosystems, Theory of Technological Mediation, Speculative Design, Generative AI, More-than-Human Design
References
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Rozendaal, M. C., Vroon, J., e Bleeker, M. (2024). Enacting human–robot encounters with theater professionals on a mixed reality stage. ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction, 14(1):1–25.
Sallis, J. (1981). Review of the question concerning technology and other essays, by m. heidegger & w. lovitt. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 12(3):186–188.
Selbst, A. D., Boyd, D., Friedler, S. A., Venkatasubramanian, S., e Vertesi, J. (2019). Fairness and abstraction in sociotechnical systems. In Proceedings of the conference on fairness, accountability, and transparency, pages 59–68.
Smith, N. (2024). Present/future objects: Creating material knowledge in speculative design. In Proceedings of the 6th Annual Symposium on HCI Education, pages 1–8.
Stead, M., Coulton, P., Pilling, F., Gradinar, A., Pilling, M., e Forrester, I. (2022). More-than-human-data interaction: bridging novel design research approaches to materialise and foreground data sustainability. In Proceedings of the 25th International Academic Mindtrek Conference, pages 62–74.
van Kraalingen, I. (2023). Theorizing technological mediation in the outdoor classroom. Postdigital Science and Education, 5(3):754–776.
Verbeek, P.-P. (2005). What things do: Philosophical reflections on technology, agency, and design. Penn State Press.
Verbeek, P.-P. (2011). Moralizing technology: Understanding and designing the morality of things. University of Chicago press.
Vindenes, J. e Wasson, B. (2021). A postphenomenological framework for studying user experience of immersive virtual reality. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2:656423.
Benjamin, J. J., Biggs, H., Berger, A., Rukanskaitė, J., Heidt, M. B., Merrill, N., Pierce, J., e Lindley, J. (2023). The entoptic feld camera as metaphor-driven research-through-design with ai technologies. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pages 1–19.
Blok, V. (2023). Philosophy of technology in the digital age: The datafication of the world, the homo virtualis, and the capacity of technological innovations to set the world free. Inaugural lecture/tech. report, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.
Boroon, L., Abedin, B., e Erfani, E. (2021). The dark side of using online social networks: A review of individuals’ negative experiences. Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM), 29(6):1–21.
Connolly, R. (2020). Why computing belongs within the social sciences. Communications of the ACM, 63(8):54–59.
Coulton, P. e Lindley, J. G. (2019). More-than human centred design: Considering other things. The Design Journal, 22(4):463–481.
da Silva Junior, D. P., Alves, D. D., Carneiro, N., Matos, E. d. S., Baranauskas, M. C. C., e Mendoza, Y. L. M. (2024). Grandihc-br 2025-2035-gc1: New theoretical and methodological approaches in hci. In Proceedings of the XXIII Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pages 1–31.
Diniz, A. (2023). Design thinking com ias generativas. Design Culture. [link]. Acesso em: 02 fev. 2025.
Dunne, A. e Raby, F. (2013). Speculative everything: design, fiction, and social dreaming. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London.
Giaccardi, E. e Redström, J. (2020). Technology and more-than-human design. Design Issues, 36(4):33–44.
Hessel, A. M. D. G. e de Oliveira Lemes, D. (2024). Uso da inteligência artificial generativa na iniciação científica: um exercício de design especulativo. Tese de Doutorado, PUC-SP.
Ihde, D. (1990). Technology and the Lifeworld: From Garden to Earth. Number 560 in Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Technology. Indiana University Press.
Johannessen, L. K., Keitsch, M. M., e Pettersen, I. N. (2019). Speculative and critical design—features, methods, and practices. In Proceedings of the design society: international conference on engineering design, volume 1, pages 1623–1632. Cambridge University Press.
Key, C., Gatehouse, C., e Taylor, N. (2022). Feminist care in the anthropocene: Packing and unpacking tensions in posthumanist hci. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, pages 677–692.
Kramer, K. e Meijboom, F. L. (2022). How do technologies affect how we see and treat animals? extending technological mediation theory to human-animal relations. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 25(4):595–611.
LC, R. e Tang, Y. (2023). Speculative design with generative ai: Applying stable diffusion and chatgpt to imagining climate change futures. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Digital and Interactive Arts, pages 1–8.
Lecocq, X., Warnier, V., Demil, B., e Plé, L. (2024). Using artificial intelligence (ai) generative technologies for business model design with ideate process: A speculative viewpoint. Journal of Business Models, 12(1):21–35.
Lindley, J. (2016). A Pragmatics Framework for Design Fiction. In 11th EAD Conference Proceedings: The Value of Design Research. Sheffeld Hallam University.
Lindley, J., Sharma, D., e Potts, R. (2014). Anticipatory ethnography: Design fiction as an input to design ethnography. In Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings, volume 2014, pages 237–253. Wiley Online Library.
Loutf, M. S., Albuquerque, B. V. L. d., Xavier, C. S., e Siqueira, S. W. M. (2024a). Design especulativo: Construindo pontes entre tecnologia, Ética e inclusão social. In Corrêa, C. e Delabrida, S., editors, Minicursos do IHC 2024: Fundamentos e Práticas para Experiências Digitais Acessíveis, Inclusivas e Eticamente Responsáveis, Perspectivas e Práticas Contemporâneas em IHC, pages 18–38. Sociedade Brasileira de Computação, Porto Alegre.
Loutf, M. S. e Siqueira, S. W. M. (2024). Speculative design in a graduate program in informatics: Students perception and practical application: A novel approach for supporting information systems education. In Proceedings of the 20th Brazilian Symposium on Information Systems, pages 1–10.
Loutf, M. S., Xavier, C. S., de Albuquerque, B. V. L., e Siqueira, S. W. M. (2024b). Cartas de mediação tecnológica. In Melo, A. M. e Coleti, T. A., editors, Práticas de IHC em Sala de Aula: ações extensionistas em pauta, pages 1–10. Sociedade Brasileira de Computação, Porto Alegre.
Lyu, Y., Hao, T., e Yi, Z. (2023). Design futures with gai: Exploring the potential of generative ai tools in collaborative speculation. In Degen, H., Ntoa, S., e Moallem, A., editors, HCI International 2023 – Late Breaking Papers, page Chapter Number and Page Range Omitted for Blinded Review, Berlin, Heidelberg. Springer Nature Switzerland.
Malik, M. e Malik, M. M. (2021). Critical technical awakenings. Journal of Social Computing, 2(4):365–384.
Mitrovic,í I., Auger, J., Hanna, J., e Helgason, I. (2021). Beyond speculative design: past–present–future. SpeculativeEdu; Arts Academy, University of Split Split.
Rosenberger, R. e Verbeek, P. P. (2015). Postphenomenological investigations: Essays on human-technology relations. Lexington Books.
Rozendaal, M. C., Vroon, J., e Bleeker, M. (2024). Enacting human–robot encounters with theater professionals on a mixed reality stage. ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction, 14(1):1–25.
Sallis, J. (1981). Review of the question concerning technology and other essays, by m. heidegger & w. lovitt. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 12(3):186–188.
Selbst, A. D., Boyd, D., Friedler, S. A., Venkatasubramanian, S., e Vertesi, J. (2019). Fairness and abstraction in sociotechnical systems. In Proceedings of the conference on fairness, accountability, and transparency, pages 59–68.
Smith, N. (2024). Present/future objects: Creating material knowledge in speculative design. In Proceedings of the 6th Annual Symposium on HCI Education, pages 1–8.
Stead, M., Coulton, P., Pilling, F., Gradinar, A., Pilling, M., e Forrester, I. (2022). More-than-human-data interaction: bridging novel design research approaches to materialise and foreground data sustainability. In Proceedings of the 25th International Academic Mindtrek Conference, pages 62–74.
van Kraalingen, I. (2023). Theorizing technological mediation in the outdoor classroom. Postdigital Science and Education, 5(3):754–776.
Verbeek, P.-P. (2005). What things do: Philosophical reflections on technology, agency, and design. Penn State Press.
Verbeek, P.-P. (2011). Moralizing technology: Understanding and designing the morality of things. University of Chicago press.
Vindenes, J. e Wasson, B. (2021). A postphenomenological framework for studying user experience of immersive virtual reality. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2:656423.
Published
2025-09-08
How to Cite
LOUTFI, Marcelo Soares; CIDRINI, Cassio Henrique Cabral; DE ARAUJO, Renata Mendes; SIQUEIRA, Sean Wolfgand Matsui.
Exploring Technological Futures in Context: An Experience Report on Speculative Design and Generative AI in Undergraduate Education. In: BRAZILIAN SYMPOSIUM ON HUMAN FACTORS IN COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS (IHC), 24. , 2025, Belo Horizonte/MG.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 238-258.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/ihc.2025.10926.
