Abstract
Traditional linear models of human communication inadequately address emotional and social dynamics in everyday contexts. This study explores speculative futures of interpersonal communication through research through design (RtD) paradigm, integrating participatory co-creation, speculative design, role-playing, and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). Situated within the socio-cultural context of China’s one-child generation in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the research transcends linear transmission metaphors in existing information communication technologies (ICTs) to address subtle interpersonal needs among friends. The study adopts a three-phase methodology, including a co-design workshop to generate speculative scenarios, designer-AI collaboration to refine scenarios, and a role- playing session to generate collective narratives, to reveal participants’ desires for togetherness, trust, and multi-sensory presence, alongside expectations for innovative experiences of communication and preserving shared memories with friends in diverse settings. Research findings highlight participants’ desires for trust, togetherness, and multi-sensory communication, alongside innovative approaches to preserving shared memories. While GenAI facilitated accelerated visualisation and narrative coherence, challenges such as content deviations and the need for iterative refinement underscored the essential role of designers in guiding the creative process. Limitations related to participant engagement and the speculative timeframe were also identified. The study contributes a scalable, culturally grounded co- creation methodology that advances the Research through Design paradigm. Future research should explore ways to enhance immersion, optimise human-AI collaboration workflows, and assess the long- term impacts of co-creation practices, extending this framework to address broader socio-technical and cultural challenges.
Keywords
Human-AI collaboration; Participatory design; Role-playing; Speculative design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.123
Citation
Yin, I.Z., Miao, X., Jiang, Y., University, B., Yin, Y., University, B.,and Siu, K.W.(2025) Co-Creating Futures of Communication: Three-Phase Speculative Co-Design with Adults of the One-Child Generation, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.123
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 6 - Co-creation
Co-Creating Futures of Communication: Three-Phase Speculative Co-Design with Adults of the One-Child Generation
Traditional linear models of human communication inadequately address emotional and social dynamics in everyday contexts. This study explores speculative futures of interpersonal communication through research through design (RtD) paradigm, integrating participatory co-creation, speculative design, role-playing, and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). Situated within the socio-cultural context of China’s one-child generation in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the research transcends linear transmission metaphors in existing information communication technologies (ICTs) to address subtle interpersonal needs among friends. The study adopts a three-phase methodology, including a co-design workshop to generate speculative scenarios, designer-AI collaboration to refine scenarios, and a role- playing session to generate collective narratives, to reveal participants’ desires for togetherness, trust, and multi-sensory presence, alongside expectations for innovative experiences of communication and preserving shared memories with friends in diverse settings. Research findings highlight participants’ desires for trust, togetherness, and multi-sensory communication, alongside innovative approaches to preserving shared memories. While GenAI facilitated accelerated visualisation and narrative coherence, challenges such as content deviations and the need for iterative refinement underscored the essential role of designers in guiding the creative process. Limitations related to participant engagement and the speculative timeframe were also identified. The study contributes a scalable, culturally grounded co- creation methodology that advances the Research through Design paradigm. Future research should explore ways to enhance immersion, optimise human-AI collaboration workflows, and assess the long- term impacts of co-creation practices, extending this framework to address broader socio-technical and cultural challenges.