Near Future Laboratory Podcast

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This is a Special Bulletin from the Near Future Laboratory on a report that Michelle Kasprzak shared in our NFLPRO Discord that was commissioned and funded by by the Government of Canada, specifically Canadian Heritage. Titled "Decrypting the Medium: A Report on the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Marketplace", it's a cogent, steady-handed look at the NFT Marketplace that I found insightful and refreshingly balanced. When I read it I thought it would be of general interest to the wider audience, particularly for folks who are curious enough about vanguard cultural phenomenons to not become super partisan. It's also fascinating to learn more about how the Canadian Government is educating itself as pertains NFTs and cultural production.

On the heels of that report is an essay that Michelle wrote and also shared in the NFLPRO Discord titled "Ethical Engagement with NFTs — Impossibility or Viable Aspiration" which couples nicely with the more academic report previously mentioned.

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Michelle Kasprzak

OCADU

Super Ordinary Lab

1. Postcards from some possible futures, sent to me by Elliot P. Montgomery 2. A Magazine from the Future in which autonomous vehicles are about as normal, ordinary, and everyday as television remote controls, wheels on luggage, and laptop sleeves. 3. Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, our pulp pop-psychology paperback from some future in which Sony's Aibo became as popular as the Sony Walkman and now, well — they're just here, and about as ferocious as a cuddly cute robot dog. https://magazinefromthefuture.comhttps://shop.nearfuturelaboratory.com... * Exploration of Possible Futures through Artifacts: The use of creative artifacts like postcards, magazines, and books to explore and represent possible futures. These artifacts are designed to augment traditional, analytical approaches to future studies with imagination and sensory experiences. * Design Fiction as a Tool: The value of design fiction is that it’s a method that translates ideas and scenarios about the future into tangible, visual forms. You can think of Design Fiction’s translation of research analysis into something engaging as an analog to the way a screenplay becomes an immersive, engaging visual story when it is made into a film. Design fiction serves to make future concepts more relatable and understandable. * Some Examples of Artifacts I've Created * Magazine from a Future with Autonomous Vehicles: Created for a client, this magazine represents a world where autonomous vehicles are commonplace. It was developed through workshops with various researchers and designers, capturing collective hopes, fears, and expectations. * Book from a Future with Ho-Hum Androids: Imagine a world where androids are as common and non-threatening as a Sony Walkman. I created a book from that world — a pop-psychology analysis of the Android psyche. * Imagination and Speculation: It’s important to imagine and speculate about different futures, considering the wide-ranging implications of technological advancements. Design Fiction presents the useful challenge to think beyond the immediate and apparent effects of new technologies. * Cognitive and Sensory Engagement: Design Fiction is a way to create more immersive and sensory engagement with future scenarios, moving beyond traditional, data-driven methods. Design Fiction emphasizes the role of imagination and creativity - the making of artifacts from these futures — in making future studies more accessible and emotionally resonant.

Episode 082 of the Near Future Laboratory Podcast with Julian Bleecker in conversation with Shashwatch Santosh.

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In Episode 082, Shash and I dance around the world of design education from Shash’s experiences at Parsons School of Design. He describes the challenging norms and his explorations around the boundaries of speculative design and Design Fiction. Shash reveals that he is a proponent of creative confusion, and shares his journey through design school, emphasizing the importance of breaking away from traditional labels and constraints. We get a candid discussion of the struggle to define his work, moving beyond conventional roles like industrial designer or object maker, and embracing the ambiguous realm of speculative design.

Shashwatch's insights are insightful and profound, particularly useful for those in or considering design education. I was especially intrigued by his critique of how the term 'speculative design' can inadvertently create aesthetic stereotypes and limit the scope of design projects. He advocates for a design approach that transcends labels, allowing work to speak for itself without being confined by preconceived notions of discipline. This approach, he believes, fosters creativity and opens up a world of possibilities beyond the conventional boundaries of design.

I somewhat echo Shashwatch’s sentiments, and we wonder together and probe the practical aspects of translating expansive and imaginative thinking into viable career paths — where viable means an exchange of value (insight/imagination/creativity for $$$). Shashwatch responds with examples from his own life, discussing the challenges of job hunting and the importance of presenting work effectively to various audiences. He highlights the significance of maintaining technical rigor in projects, which helps in navigating the murky waters of creative industries.

Shashwatch also shares his experience of struggling with familial expectations and the pressures of justifying his unconventional career path. He stresses the importance of finding a balance between creative freedom and economic viability, a dilemma faced by many in creative fields. His journey underscores the need for designers to possess not just creative skills but also the ability to articulate and market their ideas effectively in a commercial context.

You can find Shash’s thesis project 'The Public Library of Usables', a concept born from his exploration of object-oriented ontology. This project challenges traditional object functions, inviting a re-imagination of how objects are used and interact with each other, reflecting his deep engagement with speculative design principles.

Hopefully this Episode provides a compelling narrative on the complexities of design education and practice, highlighting the importance of breaking conventions, embracing ambiguity, and balancing creative aspirations with practical realities. I’d say that Shash's journey and optimism is a testament to the transformative power of speculative design and the value of creative exploration in shaping a unique design identity.

My guest Distinguished Professor Genevieve Bell, AO FAHA FTSE is an Australian anthropologist best known for her work at the intersection of cultural practice and technological development. She taught Anthropology at Stanford before being recruited to Intel in 1998 to build out their social-science research program in their advanced R&D labs. There, Bell and colleagues helped orient Intel to a more market-inspired and experience-driven approach, establishing Intel's UX competency and, indeed, introducing the viability of UX research within high technology. Together with Paul Dourish, she wrote the book 'Divining a Digital Future: Mess and Mythology in Ubiquitous Computing', an exploration of the social and cultural components of ubiquitous computing. In 2017 she returned to Australia, appointed as Entrepreneurial Fellow and distinguished professor at Australian National University's College of Engineering and Computer Science where she directs the School of Cybernetics and the Autonomy, Agency & Assurance Institute.

In our conversation I refer to her recent paper in the MIT Technology Review, 'The metaverse is a new word for an old idea'

I mention this short documentary “You’ve Never Been Completely Honest” by Joey Izzo. (Trigger warnings apply — read the interview with Izzo before watching to figure out if you really want to watch it.)

Genevieve mentions an audio recording of Gregory Bateson called "Versailles to Cybernetics" and a recording Stewart Brand made with Bateson and Margaret Meade that is in a kind of annotated transcript here: "For God's Sake Margaret!"

"Cybernetic Serendipity" is the exhibition she mentions curated by Jasia Reichardt.

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Tucker Viemeister is an American industrial designer, and founder of Viemeister Industries in New York City.

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