Speculative Fiction Prototyping: Exploring the Value of Unrecognized Minorities in Cybernetic Avatars

This paper introduces Speculative Fiction (SF) Prototyping to explore cybernetic avatars and social inclusion, emphasizing “unrecognized” minority standpoints that may not surface in incremental design. After comparing SF prototyping with other prototyping and futures-oriented design approaches (low- and high-fidelity prototyping, speculative design, design fiction, and foresight), the author conducts a targeted scan of avatar motifs in science-fiction literature. The motifs and keywords (e.g., invisibility, disguise, metamorphosis, mimicry, transformation, virtual idol) are used as domain-specific seeds for an online workshop held on December 22, 2023. Two language groups (English and Japanese) co-created future scenarios for Cooking, Housing, and Fashion in 2050 through structured steps: icebreakers, inventing “future words,” selecting and elaborating them, identifying enabling technologies and systems, creating occupations and characters, drafting social-media posts, and writing short plays. The resulting scenarios envision immersive dining through VR/AR and projection mapping, metaverse food courts and smart utensils, homes shaped by health risks, genetic medicine, avatars and robot-enabled remote work, and fashion that functions as adaptive life support. Reflections highlight SF prototyping’s value in challenging assumptions—for instance, that avatar-enabled “more choice” can also create pressure to choose—thereby surfacing alternative needs and inclusion concerns. These narratives complement technical prototypes by making social trade-offs discussable explicitly.