Capstone Project 3: Speculative Design

"The future is already here — it's just not evenly distributed." — William Gibson

Overview

In this capstone project, you will design a data governance framework for a technology that doesn't fully exist yet — using the anticipatory governance frameworks from Chapter 38 and the participatory design methods from Chapter 39 to imagine, critique, and build governance for the near future.

This project exercises a different set of muscles than the audit (Project 1) or the policy brief (Project 2). It requires not just analysis of what exists but imagination about what might exist — and the governance structures that could shape emerging technologies toward human flourishing rather than harm.

Estimated Time: 25-40 hours over 3-5 weeks Deliverable: Speculative design document (6,000-10,000 words) with visual governance model Assessment Criteria: Imagination, governance rigor, stakeholder inclusivity, anticipation of harms, feasibility of governance design

Phase 1: Technology Selection (Week 1)

Choose a near-future technology scenario — something that is emerging but not yet fully deployed, where governance structures are still being designed (or haven't been designed at all).

Suggested Scenarios:

Scenario A: Ambient Intelligence

It's 2030. Your city has deployed a network of environmental sensors in every public space — monitoring air quality, noise levels, crowd density, temperature, and foot traffic. The sensors also detect individual mobile devices through Bluetooth and WiFi, enabling real-time population movement tracking. The stated purpose is urban optimization: routing traffic, allocating emergency services, and managing energy consumption. Design the governance framework.

Scenario B: Neural Data

It's 2032. Consumer brain-computer interfaces have achieved mainstream adoption. A headband device reads EEG signals to enable hands-free computing, emotion-aware music recommendations, and cognitive load management. The device generates continuous neural data that the manufacturer stores in the cloud. Design the governance framework for neural data.

Scenario C: Genetic Risk Scoring

It's 2029. Advances in polygenic risk scoring mean that a simple DNA test can predict your probability of developing 50 common diseases with clinically useful accuracy. Health insurers, employers, and dating apps want access to the scores. Design the governance framework.

Scenario D: Digital Afterlife

It's 2031. AI systems can generate convincing text, voice, and video of deceased individuals based on their digital footprint — emails, social media, recordings, photos. "Digital memorial" services offer grieving families the ability to "talk to" their deceased loved ones. Design the governance framework.

Scenario E: Autonomous Municipal Governance

It's 2033. Your city has implemented an AI-assisted governance system that analyzes city data (traffic, crime, health, education, spending) and generates policy recommendations that the city council votes on. The system optimizes for metrics the council has selected. Design the governance framework.

Scenario F: Your Own

Design your own near-future technology scenario. It must be technologically plausible (not science fiction), socially consequential, and governance-relevant.

Deliverable: One-page scenario description including: the technology, its capabilities, its users, its data flows, and why governance is needed.

Phase 2: Stakeholder Mapping and Values Elicitation (Week 1-2)

1. Identify all stakeholders who would be affected by this technology (directly and indirectly)
2. Map power dynamics — who benefits most? Who bears the most risk? Who has decision-making authority?
3. Elicit values — for each stakeholder group, what values are at stake? (Privacy, autonomy, safety, innovation, equity, efficiency, dignity)
4. Identify value conflicts — where do stakeholder values conflict? These conflicts are the governance challenges your framework must address.

Deliverable: Stakeholder map with values and conflict analysis.

Phase 3: Harm Anticipation (Week 2-3)

Using the frameworks from across the textbook:

1. Anticipate potential harms: - Privacy harms (Chapter 7-12) - Bias and fairness harms (Chapter 14-15) - Accountability gaps (Chapter 17) - Power concentration (Chapter 5) - Environmental harms (Chapter 34) - Harms to vulnerable populations — children, marginalized communities, Global South (Chapters 32, 35, 37)
2. Map the harm landscape — which harms are most likely? Most severe? Most difficult to reverse?
3. Identify feedback loops — could the technology create self-reinforcing dynamics that amplify harm over time?

Deliverable: Harm anticipation matrix (likelihood x severity x reversibility).

Phase 4: Governance Design (Week 3-4)

Design a comprehensive governance framework for your technology. Your framework should address:

4.1 Principles

What foundational principles should govern this technology? (Draw on Chapter 6's ethical frameworks, Chapter 10's Privacy by Design principles, and Chapter 29's Responsible AI principles.)

4.2 Institutional Structure

What governance institutions are needed? Consider: - Regulatory body: Who regulates? What powers do they have? - Oversight mechanism: How is the technology monitored? By whom? - Stakeholder participation: How do affected communities participate in governance? - Technical standards body: Who sets technical standards for safety, interoperability, and privacy? - Dispute resolution: How are conflicts resolved?

4.3 Rules and Requirements

What specific rules should govern the technology? Consider: - Data collection limitations - Consent requirements - Transparency and explainability obligations - Bias testing and fairness requirements - Impact assessment requirements - Breach notification and incident response - Cross-border governance (if applicable)

4.4 Enforcement

How are the rules enforced? Consider: - Penalties for violations - Audit requirements - Certification or conformity assessment - Whistleblower protections - Citizen complaint mechanisms

4.5 Adaptability

How does your governance framework adapt as the technology evolves? (Draw on Chapter 38's anticipatory governance frameworks — sunset clauses, regulatory sandboxes, adaptive regulation.)

Deliverable: Governance framework document with visual model (diagram of institutional relationships and information flows).

Phase 5: Stress Testing (Week 4-5)

Test your governance framework against challenging scenarios:

1. The bad actor scenario: A company deliberately circumvents your governance framework. Does the framework detect and respond?
2. The edge case scenario: The technology is used in a way you didn't anticipate. Does your framework have mechanisms to address novel uses?
3. The scale scenario: The technology is adopted by 10x more users than expected. Does your governance scale?
4. The equity scenario: Marginalized communities are disproportionately affected. Does your framework protect them?
5. The cross-border scenario: The technology is deployed across multiple jurisdictions. Does your governance work internationally?

For each scenario, describe: what happens, how your framework responds, and what modifications (if any) are needed.

Deliverable: Stress test report with framework modifications.

Phase 6: Compilation and Presentation (Week 5)

Compile your work into a speculative design document:

1. Scenario Description (1-2 pages)
2. Stakeholder Analysis (2 pages)
3. Harm Anticipation (2 pages)
4. Governance Framework (3-4 pages, including visual model)
5. Stress Test Results (2 pages)
6. Reflection (1 page): What did you learn about governance design through this exercise? What was hardest? What would you do differently?

Assessment Rubric

Tips for Success

• Be specific. "There should be a regulatory body" is weak. "A five-member commission appointed by the governor, with seats reserved for a technologist, a civil liberties advocate, and a community representative, with subpoena power and a $5M annual budget" is strong.
• Steal wisely. The best governance designs draw on what already works. Borrow from GDPR's rights framework, the EU AI Act's risk tiers, the FDA's approval process, or community land trust governance models — whatever fits your scenario.
• Design for the people you're trying to protect. The ultimate test of your framework is whether it works for the most vulnerable stakeholders, not the most powerful.
• Embrace uncertainty. You can't predict everything. Good governance design acknowledges this and builds in flexibility.
• Have fun. Speculative design is the most creative exercise in this textbook. Let yourself imagine.