A question from futures anthropology — the myths inside our technologies

What was discussed

The session asked whether merely predicting technological progress can help us understand how people will live the future. From the view that the future differs from person to person and that multiple futures intersect, anthropological methods using ethnography and workshops were introduced. In a case study of home automation, the importance of users feeling that they themselves are making decisions was discussed. An experiment of sensing the future by touching materials, using kimono recycling as an example, was also presented, and the significance of incorporating values and senses into futures research was discussed.

About this session

What kind of future will technology bring us? To know the answer, we need to understand not only how technology develops but how humanity acts when a new technology arrives. As a world-renowned anthropologist and a rare figure holding doctorates in both engineering and philosophy, Professor Sarah Pink has dug into the humanity that lies beyond technology. She joins us in Japan to give an intensive lecture on part of that work. [Simultaneous interpretation into Japanese is provided for this session.]

Speakers

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  Sarah Pink

  Monash University　Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Professor / Director, FUTURES Hub and Emerging Technologies Research Lab

  A researcher and documentary maker working in design anthropology and futures anthropology. She holds a BA and PhD in social anthropology from the University of Kent and an MA in visual anthropology from the University of Manchester. At Monash University she is part of the Design and Human Centred Computing departments and runs the FUTURES Hub and the Emerging Technologies Research Lab. Her interdisciplinary research covers the social, cultural and experiential dimensions of how emerging technologies are designed and used, and human futures in digitalisation and the net-zero transition.