https://blogs.ubc.ca/jgock87/weekly-tasks
Jon Gock’s prompt was very similar to the one I was given, which is why I was drawn to this particular narrative. I also appreciate that Jon wrote his own narrative instead of using AI to generate one. Similar to the AI-generated narratives on my post, it was interesting to see how Jon’s narrative also reflected current or recent events and concerns: quarantine, AI, big tech, etc.
Like Jon mentions, Dunne & Raby (2013) discuss changing values and behaviors. What I find fascinating is the idea of resistance in Jon’s narrative. In my mind, these people would be the ones who disagree with the changing values and behaviors—those who can see past the convenience and efficiency and understand what is being lost. I often wonder what character traits lead some people to become part of the resistance while others go along with the status quo. Are those who resist better at imagining speculative futures? Auger et al. (2021) cite Le Guin to explore this idea, stating, “if we don’t think about alternatives, we’re stuck with what we’re doing now, following hi-tech industrial growth-capitalism to the bitter end” (Chapter 1, p. 7, as cited in Davis, 2014). This raises an important question: does the ability to envision alternatives make one more likely to resist dominant narratives?
I appreciate that Jon ended his reflection by acknowledging that not everyone sees progress in the same way. I believe this perspective will become increasingly important as society continues to evolve. Unfortunately, I anticipate that these differing views on progress will create more division than unity, as people struggle to agree on what truly constitutes ‘progress’ or what is ‘better’.
References:
Auger, J., Hanna, J., & Mitrović, I. (2021). Beyond speculations. In I. Mitrović, J. Auger, J. Hanna, & I. Helgason (Eds.), Beyond speculative design: Past – present – future (pp. 12-23). SpeculativeEdu.
Dunne, A., & Raby, F. (2013). Speculative everything: Design, fiction, and social dreaming. The MIT Press