Great essay on Forrester’s amazing prediction of a network-addicted, reality averse world, “The Machine Stops”. The article’s goal is “future friendly” design.
Wow, a very TASAT topic indeed!
The whole article is worth a read. If you’re thwarted by the paywall, you might try via ArchiveButtons.
My brief preview:
“The Machine Stops” sounds startlingly prescient. In 1909(!), Forster described a ruined ecology with people ensconced in individual rooms in underground cities, surrounded by automated comforts. They ingest a constant flow of information and communication, lacking even the desire to pause the stimulus and step out the door.
Their grind mindset is about having ideas. The main character, persuaded to travel by airship, looks out the window:
“No ideas here”, she murmurs. “No ideas here”, she repeats. “Cover the window, please. These mountains give me no ideas”, she demands.
The article goes on to reference The Manual of Design Fiction (2023) which is concerned with unforseen side effects of advancing technology like “our addiction to devices, feeds, and ‘likes’, the spigots of disinformation and abuse, the ruination of political discourse, the manifold threats to our privacy, and the misuse of our data.”
The authors propose that designers and engineers employ design fiction, “an approach that combines research, storytelling, prototyping and speculation to help tell a story about where technology and societies might be headed.”