Unboxing the imaginary: Typology of future imagination techniques in high-tech development

Area of Science:

• Science and Technology Studies (STS)
• Sociology of Technology
• Future Studies

Background:

• The concept of sociotechnical imaginaries is crucial for understanding technological futures.
• Existing frameworks often focus on broad social images of the future, limiting analysis of the imagination process.
• There is a need to investigate the dynamic practices and processes involved in imagining socio-technical futures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To extend and deepen the analysis of sociotechnical imaginaries by focusing on the processes and practices of imagination.
• To reframe future imaginaries not merely as stable end-states but as products of an ongoing imaginative process.
• To explore the role of diverse temporalities in shaping future imagination and planning.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of sociotechnical imaginaries within STS.
• Examination of the processes and practices of imagination in socio-technical futures.
• Development of a temporality-based analytical framework.

Main Results:

• Future imaginaries are products of dynamic imagination processes, not just final states.
• Analysis of imagination processes reveals diverse temporalities beyond a singular far-future imaginary.
• A temporality-based approach can differentiate future planning techniques by formality and institutionalization.

Conclusions:

• Shifting focus from stable imaginaries to the process of imagination offers richer insights.
• Incorporating diverse temporalities enhances our understanding of how futures are imagined and planned.
• This approach provides a nuanced framework for analyzing socio-technical future planning practices.