ProtoPolicy
Design Fiction as a tool for projection and negotiation in the service of ageing policies
ProtoPolicy is a pilot research-creation project conceived and conducted for the British Parliament and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This experiment aimed to explore how Design Fiction can, in practical terms, assist public policymakers and communities in envisioning and negotiating the implications of future public policies.
ProtoPolicy focuses specifically on how co-created design fiction scenarios can enable elderly people to engage in dialogue with policymakers about the complex issues of isolation and loneliness, which are often seen as intrinsic to ageing at home.
Rooted in a genuinely participatory Design Fiction approach, ProtoPolicy initially centred on three foresight-driven workshops, conducted with seniors and their caregivers in various cities of the United Kingdom. During the sessions, two essential questions were posed to them: How do you imagine your future daily life in light of various political programmes and legislative proposals concerning ageing at home? In your view, what might be lacking in these future public policies?
↑ The Soulaje smart bracelet, enabling self-administered euthanasia.
From these collective reflections, discussions and projections, two design fiction scenarios emerged:
– Soulaje, a connected bracelet enabling self-administered euthanasia. This scenario envisions a future society where individuals are free to choose when their life ends, through an act that has become both legal and mundane.
– The Smart Object Therapist presents a new form of medical support that combines expertise in human psychology with proficiency in artificial intelligence. Through a process of mediation, this therapist facilitates the relationship between elderly individuals and their smart home environments and the personalised services they offer.
These two scenarios, accompanied by deliberately provocative prototypes, were presented to British parliamentarians in several panels. These sessions, introducing and confronting MPs with design fictions, allowed for a range of controversies and issues to be raised, such as the legalisation of euthanasia and the social acceptability of connected home environments.
↑ Left: An excerpt from the Soulaje user manual.
Right: A flyer from opponents of self-administered euthanasia.
↑ A consultation with a Smart Object Therapist at an elderly person’s home.
↑ Left: A job advertisement for a Smart Object Therapist position.
Right: An excerpt from a prescription to reconnect with one’s smart home.
↑ A glimpse of a co-design fiction workshop at Miner’s Court (UK).
