Prototyping the Future Through Fiction
The stories we tell about what’s to come can play an important part in what comes to be. Radha Mistry and Jessica Escobedo share their work shaping the future with imagination.
Science fiction has often led the way in helping us envision our technological future. Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, took inspiration from the science fiction of Arthur C. Clarke. The first comprehensive and specific depiction of virtual reality was a 1935 short story by Stanley Weinbaum. In this talk from the Theater at AU Las Vegas, Radha Mistry and Jessica Escobedo share their work from the Office of the CTO at Autodesk crafting stories that, while fiction, serve as pathways to creating the future we prefer, rather than simply enduring a future that’s possible.
About the speakers
Radha Mistry works on strategic foresight for Autodesk. She explores the impact of emerging technologies for the future of architecture, engineering, construction, and manufacturing. She is currently focused on the future of work. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University, and a master’s degree from University of Arts London.
Jessica Escobedo is a recent graduate of the Media Design Practices MFA at ArtCenter College of Design and former Autodesk intern. She currently works as a Designmatters fellow at the City of Los Angeles’ Innovation Team.
Related learning
Interested in knowing more about the power of storytelling? Check out these related AU sessions.
Virtual Reality Plus Mixed Reality: The Evolution of Storytelling to Story Living
Virtual reality is no longer a marketing gimmick. It’s a serious industry with almost 200 million active users. In this AU London industry talk, Solomon Rogers explores virtual reality, augmented reality, merged reality, and their futures in this new age of storytelling.
2 Heads—and a Brain-Computer Interface—Are Making Waves in the Art World
Art predates science, not the other way around. Check out this Redshift article on how a technology-based performance piece from Eva Lee and Aaron Trocola is inspiring science to explore the future of brainwave technology—like typing with the mind and feeding brainwave data into machine-learning algorithms.
Fiction as Foresight for Science
Story can help us steer science. It allows speculation, which leads to exploration, which leads to innovation. That’s the science of fiction. In this talk from the AU Theater, Autodesk Story Strategist Darren Brooker explores this journey and provides 3 examples from the Autodesk Office of the CTO that bring the process into focus.