ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Education
Design fiction as critical pedagogy for exploring technology futures in social research
1. OsloMet - storbyuniversitetet, Oslo, Norway
2. Brown University, Providence, United States
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Abstract
This article argues for and demonstrates the application of design fiction in educational settings to engage an interdisciplinary group of participants from civil society and from academia in an educational setting in critical reflection on digital technology futures. It draws on insights from a series of design fiction workshops that we have facilitated with students and researchers, activists, artists, and other members of civil society in Denmark, Norway, and France. In these workshops, participants imagine, prototype, and critique imagined futures where technologies such as electronic monitoring and facial recognition serve as innovations in domains such as employment, sexual health, and tourism. We demonstrate how humor and playfulness function performatively to enable participants to embody design fiction scenarios and convey these dramatically. The workshops offer key pedagogical opportunities to raise ethical questions about technology futures, encourage self-reflexivity, and reveal to participants the limits of their imagination.
Summary
Keywords
design fiction1, digital detention, Ethics, Futures, surveillance, Technology
Received
25 August 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Mainsah and Boe. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Henry Mainsah; Carolina Sanchez Boe
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.