Technology in some way or form is present in all our future imaginaries. But there are also alternative ways to imagine life in 30 years.
Project leader Nina Heidenstrøm was interviewed about the findings of WP1 Mine, where the imaginaries that consumers encounter in everything from popular culture to policy and business documents, were examined.
The imaginaries vary, between the playfulness yet often dystopian stories of science fiction, and the sometimes visionary but mainly solution-oriented policy and business document. A common element is, however, the discussion of technology.
– In business, they put a lot of faith in future technology solving the problems that industries are facing. Namely, that they produce way too much. Hence they use technology to produce more sustainably without reducing the production volumes. They frame it as being to the benefit of the consumer.
The technology-driven stories are contrasted by stories of radical social change, questioning how we organise our lives, our cities and our communities.
Read the full article in Norewegian here or here (forskning.no)
Or dive into all the findings in the report from WP1 here.