How “Speculative Design” Can Revamp The Education System for the Age of AI

The future of education hangs in the balance as school systems struggle to keep pace with exponential technological growth in the age of AI. Speculative design, a methodology that uses design to explore and envision possible futures, may provide a powerful framework for reimagining education from the ground up.

Adaptability as a survival skill: Speculative design methods can help foster adaptability, a crucial skill for thriving in an unpredictable future:

• By creating scenarios that represent potential future scenarios, students and teachers are challenged to navigate uncharted territories, developing the agility essential for success.
• Encouraging students to tackle ethical dilemmas posed by AI or solve complex problems through speculative design prepares them to shape the future proactively.

Making the abstract tangible: Speculative design transforms abstract concepts into tangible experiences, moving theoretical discussions about the future into reality:

• A “School of 2050” exhibit featuring prototypes and immersive scenarios of new educational settings could ignite meaningful debates about the value of these futures.
• By embodying ideas, ideals, and ethics in speculative proposals, design bridges the gap between abstract ideas and concrete realities, making the future of education something we can actively shape.

Reimagining education from the ground up: Most crucially, speculative design provides a methodology for completely rethinking the systems and purpose of education:

• Exploring radical ideas, such as AI handling all factual instruction or schools focusing on solving real-world problems, could redefine what schooling could and should look like.
• By creating detailed visions of alternative futures, speculative design acts as a catalyst for social dreaming, enabling us to actively shape the future of education.

The urgent need for change: The need to rethink education is pressing, and speculative design offers a powerful methodology for this task:

• Educators, policymakers, and students must shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive future-shaping, embracing uncertainty and exploring multiple possible futures.
• Speculative design may be the key to creating an education system that isn’t afraid of the future but actively shapes it, requiring boldness to reimagine education in the face of constant change.