LOUTFI, M. S..; SIQUEIRA, S. W. M. . Speculative Design as a Post-Phenomenological Practice. Phenomenological concepts and methods for HCI research (PhenoHCI125) @ INTERACT 2025 CEUR Workshops Proceedings, v. 4131, p. 21-28, 2025. URL: https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-4131/paper4.pdf
Speculative Design as a Post-Phenomenological Practice
Authors
Marcelo Soares Loutfi (UNIRIO)
Sean Wolfgand Matsui Siqueira (UNIRIO)
Abstract
This paper analyzes a Speculative Design workshop conducted in an undergraduate Information Systems course with 38 students. The activity explored how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and the Theory of Technological Mediation (TTM), inspired by post-phenomenological approaches, can support critical reflection on the role of technologies in shaping sociotechnical futures. Conducted in four stages, the workshop involved mapping sociotechnical networks, using GenAI to project future scenarios, designing technological solutions, and evaluating them through the Technological Mediation Cards. The analysis presented in this paper focuses on the speculations of two groups and on insights gathered from a focus group discussion, enabling a deeper examination of how students articulated technology, ethics, and agency within their speculative narratives. The findings show that, although students initially accepted GenAI outputs passively, they progressively adopted a more critical and curatorial stance when analyzing the mediating effects of technologies. This shift fostered an understanding of technologies as co-constitutive agents of future realities and encouraged ethical and reflective discussions about their implications. The study contributes to more-than-human HCI and design education by demonstrating how integrating GenAI and TTM can transform speculative design into a practice of critical reflection.
Palavras-chave:
Speculative Design, Post-Phenomenology, Theory of Technological Mediation, Sociotechnical Futures
URL: https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-4131/paper4.pdf
