This edition explores the significance of gathering and engaging in design, reflecting on the Design Engaged 2008 event in Montréal and its impact on fostering creativity and collaboration. It highlights the recent Imagine Harder Summit 2023 held at the Affleck House in Detroit, where diverse creative minds convened to discuss innovation and futures-oriented thinking. The newsletter also examines the Social Speaker, a functional prototype developed in 2012 that aimed to enhance social listening experiences. Additionally, it investigates the...

This edition examines the nuances of problem framing in organizations, inspired by Ken Anderson's post “A Better Noun.” It discusses the role of prototypes in facilitating exploration rather than merely solving problems, emphasizing the importance of expanding the terrain for unexpected opportunities. The Design Fiction Product Design Work Kit is highlighted as a tool for imagining near futures through creative combinations. A workshop on AI in learning, proposed for SXSW 2026, is introduced, focusing on speculative artifacts that...

Agentic Awareness Week prompts reflection on the implications of increasingly intelligent machines in our lives. The newsletter discusses insights from the OpenAI Black Hat presentation, highlighting the complexities and potential dangers of agentic systems. It draws parallels to childhood safety lessons, questioning what equivalent guidance exists for a world filled with machine intelligences. The concept of applied speculation is introduced, emphasizing the creation of tangible artifacts—such as PSAs and maintenance protocols—that help us understand and navigate the consequences...

This edition explores the intersection of technology and spirituality through the rise of GPT Cafés and Psychic Hubs, where practitioners engage with machine intelligences in ritualistic ways. It highlights the emergence of "Deshittification," a field manual aimed at reclaiming the internet from extractive practices, and discusses the challenges posed by autonomous self-dumping dumpsters in urban environments. The issue also features the Tektronix Turing Clamp 6502 MkII, designed to manage LLMs during active inference, and a call for creative...

Is law the first applied futurism? This concept emerged during a recent Office Hours discussion, highlighting the role of lawyers as early futurists who shape imagined futures through legal frameworks. The newsletter examines how law transforms possibilities into enforceable codes, creating a duality in the future that is both open to interpretation and constrained by written regulations. It also explores the implications of this perspective on futurism, suggesting that lawyers engage in applied speculation with tangible outcomes. Additionally,...

The Design Fiction Work Kit (2022) is now available in limited quantities, featuring a generative tool designed to help users imagine possible near futures. This kit includes a variety of combinations for innovative Design Fiction Product Designs, allowing users to select from categories such as Archetype, Tone, Object, Attribute, and Action, along with a unique 70/20/10 Joker. The kit is ideal for ideation and enhancing foresight skills. Additionally, four essential Design Fiction books are on sale, providing methods,...