The rise of AI will disrupt school systems. Speculative design may help: promoting adaptability, making the abstract tangible and reimagining education for the future.
School systems hang in the balance.
Education systems around the world are struggling to keep pace with exponential technological growth. In the new age of AI, they stand in a liminal space. Speculative design might just be the answer.
Speculative design is a methodology developed by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, that uses design to explore and envision possible futures. It’s an approach to imagining alternative future realities and bringing them to life through tangible artefacts, scenarios and experiences.
In practice, it involves:
1. Creating detailed “what if” scenarios that push beyond current realities.
2. Developing tangible artefacts, such as prototypes or mock-ups.
3. Crafting immersive experiences that allow people to ‘step into’ alternative futures.
4. Provoking critical thought to spark discussion and debate about possible futures and their implications.
It might be a design methodology the education system desperately needs, for these three reasons:1. It Promotes Adaptability In An Unpredictable World
Adaptability isn’t just an asset, it’s a survival skill. Speculative design methods can help foster this skill.
“Design speculations can act as a catalyst for collectively redefining our relationship to reality”, argue Dunne and Raby in their book Speculative Everything.
