H-AIST CE Lab. and UNIVERSITY of CREATIVITY hosted a science fiction prototyping workshop imagining a circular economy society.

This future-envisioning workshop was held with the purpose of further exploring the future scenario ("Consumer Styles in the Circular Economy Era") envisioned in H-AIST CE Lab.'s grand design, and identify the motivations behind changes in values and behavior of future consumers, which will be key in transitioning to a circular economy. The workshop was aimed at junior high and high school students who will be of working age in 2040, the year envisioned in the scenario.

The workshop was held in joint partnership with UNIVERSITY of CREATIVITY (UoC), with the cooperation of Amita Corporation, and attended by 18 middle and high school students from Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School.

On the day of the event, participants were asked to use the “science fiction prototyping” method to imagine gadgets that will be used in the future circular economy society, as well as new systems and professions that will be created in the future, in the world depicted in a video of the future scenario "Consumer Styles in the Circular Economy Era" created by H-AIST CE Lab. As part of the event program, participants were also asked to devise stories for overcoming a variety of social problems envisioned in the future—such as sources of supply for resources, sudden energy outages, and new taxes on waste—and act out their own scenarios.

Along with this acting-out exercise, participants were also challenged to visualize the background to this future society using image-generating AI.
The workshop yielded a highly diverse and extended version of the future society envisioned by H-AIST CE Lab., with each of the four groups working on their own unique worldviews. These included: a society that is prepared for unstable material supplies, envisioning the creation of textiles and clothing from food as well as the reduction of food loss; a remote island society with limited energy supplies that stabilizes supply through energy circulation using power generation from commercial facilities, electric vehicles, and cruise ships at anchor; a society that uses edible wrapping paper derived from rice to reduce resource waste at hamburger restaurants and composting to turn food leftovers into fertilizer for growing the next crop; and public bathhouses that use electricity generated by bicycles pedaled by bathers to boil bathwater.

Images of specific ideas generated by students using AI image generation (selected examples)

The ideas and perspectives gained through this series of future envisioning will be used to expand the future scenarios developed by H-AIST CE Lab.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to UoC for co-hosting the event, and to everyone who participated.

● Related links

Consumer Styles in the Circular Economy Era
https://unit.aist.go.jp/hitachi-cecrl/news/2024/240329_2.html

UNIVERSITY of CREATIVITY
https://uoc.world/

Amita Corporation
https://www.amita-net.co.jp/

Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School, Joshi Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School
https://www.seigakuin.ed.jp/
https://www.joshiseigakuin.ed.jp/

Seigakuin University & Schools PR Center Official Note Site
Report article about this workshop
https://note.seig.ac.jp/n/n6ef747c1ea29