Hopeful Failure: How Collaborative Design Fiction Reimagines AI
Under Review
While the number of people using artificial intelligence (AI) is growing, the number of people making core AI decisions remains limited. Hoping to address related biases and harms, advocates call for opening up the development of algorithmic systems to a wider range of perspectives, interests, and methods. This paper responds to this concern by drawing on two design fiction workshops where 10 Black American participants imagine futures with and against AI. Introducing the technique of Exquisite Tellings—selectively reading in-progress stories while co-developing design fiction plots—we find that when prompted to incorporate or think through a future with AI technology, people told stories of tech failures. Specifically, we identify five axes of AI engagement that each demonstrate the creativity of communal imaginings. We argue that analyzing specific instances of `hopeful failure’—where challenges in AI development reveal broader social possibilities—can help scholars and critics better understand the emerging effects of AI on society.
Authors: Jeffrey Basoah , Dr. Katharina Reinecke, Dr. Daniela Rosner, Dr. Ihudiya Finda Ogbonnaya-Ogburu