Linking Assignment – Task 12
Task 12: Speculative Futures
Classmate: Jasmine Chapman
Link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/jasminechapmanetec540/2025/03/28/80/

I chose Jasmine’s Task 12 post to comment on for my final linking assignment because I was interested in seeing what narratives AI would produce given the structure of the generated prompts associated with this task. Like Jasmine, the ideas created and the format presented by AI weren’t those I had previously considered.

In addition to the generated prompt, Jasmine added an element of fantasy (“related to super-human abilities”) and some guidance about what has caused the devastation of society (“the 7 Deadly Sins”). I enjoyed the narrative aspects of the generated content; however, I didn’t find that it led to any personal speculation about future realities, and the concept was so removed from reality that it was challenging to see the connection to the present day and the alternatives that might exist. I could see where she was going regarding the seven deadly sins and societal collapse, but the generated content didn’t effectively connect the two to the present day. Jasmine alludes to this sentiment in her reflection: “But while it was conceptually interesting, I felt it fell short in emotionally mapping the Seven Deadly Sins and their societal impacts.”

I was surprised by how dark the content was and wondered if it resulted from the AI platform being used. I frequently use Copilot which has refused to develop content due to its potentially harmful nature when given prompts that were not offensive or harmful. I am doubtful that Copilot would generate content in which children are used to kill their parents, but I might be wrong. I think we can all relate to Jasmine’s conflicted nature about using AI in education. One of my biggest takeaways is the neutrality of technology itself; what isn’t neutral is human input, execution, and use. In this respect, I see why practices such as speculative design are so important; without proper consideration, we can create very undesirable outcomes.

I related to Jasmine’s sentiments regarding a dystopian future and how that image of the world seems closer to our reality than ever before. I don’t know if it’s due to awareness, as Jasmine suggests, or simply the current cycle we are living in. Jasmine concludes with a challenge to reflect on and reimagine the world we are creating, which I think is at the heart of speculative design.