Brainstorming Guide for Software Vignettes

This guide is designed to help you brainstorm and develop compelling vignettes that explore the social, economic, and ethical impacts of software. It’s a series of questions to think about in a “waterfall” fashion (ironically!), to help you develop a rich concept.

It leaves open exactly how you implement your writing, and you are welcome to use a combination of your own creativity and of prompting an AI to help you generate text. The goal is to create engaging narratives that illuminate the complex consequences of technological change.

Finding Your Concept

1. Analyze Disrupted Industries

Look at how technology has already transformed different sectors:

Customer Service: AI representatives replacing human agents (Taco Bell’s AI drive-thru)
Creative Fields: AI-generated art and content disrupting traditional creators
Retail/E-commerce: Amazon and online shopping replacing physical stores
Education: Virtual classrooms, MOOCs, and the changing value of credentials
News/Media: Social media replacing newspapers as information sources
Dating/Relationships: Algorithm-mediated connections replacing organic meetings
Healthcare: Electronic health records, telemedicine, AI diagnostics
Publishing: E-books, self-publishing platforms, audiobooks changing reading
Financial Services: Automated investing, payment apps, cryptocurrency
Transportation: Ridesharing, autonomous vehicles, delivery services

You can explore the concepts submitted by students during class by looking at the disrupted-industries.csv file.

2. Study the Pattern of Disruption

Technology tends to disrupt in predictable sequences:

Initial innovation → Democratized access → Legacy systems collapse → Consolidation → New problems emerge
Example: Music industry’s path from CDs → MP3s → streaming → artist compensation issues

3. Uncover Hidden Value

Ask what we didn’t realize was valuable about traditional systems until they were gone:

Local newspapers weren’t just information sources—they were community builders and accountability mechanisms
Physical retailers weren’t just product sources—they were social spaces and employment centers
In-person dating wasn’t just for finding partners—it developed social skills and community connections

4. Pick a Time Horizon

Decide how far into the future your vignette will be set. In terms of adoption timelines of technology, consider:

Near-term (5-10 years): Incremental changes, early adoption, immediate consequences
Mid-term (10-20 years): Widespread adoption, systemic shifts, new norms emerging
Long-term (20+ years): Radical transformation, societal reorganization, unforeseen consequences

Developing Your Narrative

5. Make It Relatable

Ground your story in universal human concerns: security, connection, purpose, dignity
Connect abstract technological concepts to concrete personal struggles
Example: The “Liquidity Solutions” vignette makes selling organs relatable by connecting it to the familiar stress of debt

6. Explore Market Forces

How might profit incentives drive technological implementation?
What happens when market forces clash with human welfare?
Remember: Markets are often more powerful than government regulations
Who benefits financially from disruption vs. the status quo?

7. Trace Unintended Consequences

What second and third-order effects might emerge from well-intended innovations?
What happens when technology designed for one purpose gets repurposed?
What social functions might be accidentally disrupted?
Example: Social media connecting people → algorithm-driven engagement → polarization and isolation

8. Find the Tension Points

Strong vignettes often explore conflicts between:

Convenience vs. privacy
Efficiency vs. humanity
Progress vs. tradition
Individual freedom vs. collective welfare
Access vs. quality

Adding Depth and Nuance

9. Consider Human-Computer Interaction

How does the technology make people feel when using it?
Does it empower users or create dependencies?
How does it transform human relationships?
Does it create new social norms or expectations?

10. Explore Regulatory Gaps

How might existing regulations fail to address new technologies?
What happens in regulatory vacuums?
How might technologies be designed to circumvent oversight?
What if regulations exist but are captured by industry interests?

11. Examine Digital Divides

Who gains and loses access to essential services?
How might technology address existing inequalities?
How might technology create new forms of inequality?
Example: Remote healthcare improving rural access but requiring digital literacy

12. Consider Institutional Collapse

What happens when technology undermines foundational institutions?
Who fills the void when traditional systems fail?
How do people adapt to institutional collapse?
Example: Dating apps replacing community matchmaking and changing relationship formation

Writing Techniques

13. Show, Don’t Tell

Reveal your world through character interactions and experiences
Use sensory details to make the technology tangible
Let readers discover implications through context rather than exposition
Example: “She taps the liver option again. She should feel something. But it’s just a number. Just a transaction.”

14. Use Specific Details

Name specific products, companies, or services
Create plausible UI/UX interactions
Reference realistic policies or regulations
Include price points, statistics, or metrics that feel authentic

15. Humanize the Abstract

Put a human face on technological trends
Show how systems and policies affect individual lives
Balance the personal and the systemic
Example: The character Dean selling his corneas humanizes the abstract concept of “liquidity solutions”

16. Normalize the Abnormal

Show characters accepting previously unthinkable conditions as routine
Use casual language for disturbing concepts to create cognitive dissonance
Present radical changes through the lens of everyday concerns
Example: Organ markets described in the casual language of financial transactions

Testing Your Concept

17. Apply the “But For” Test

Ask: “But for this software, would this scenario be possible?”
Make sure the technology is essential to your narrative, not incidental
The story should fundamentally change if you remove the technological element

18. Reality-Check Your Premises

Is there a historical parallel that supports your projected outcome?
Would real humans behave this way given these incentives?
Are there realistic countervailing forces you should acknowledge?

19. Balance Optimism and Pessimism

Even dystopian scenarios often begin with good intentions
Even protopian scenarios should acknowledge remaining challenges
Avoid simplistic “technology bad” or “technology good” narratives
Remember that most technological impacts are mixed and complex

20. Consider Multiple Perspectives

How does the same technology affect different stakeholders?
Who are the winners and losers in your scenario?
What might the technology creators have intended vs. what actually happened?
Is resistance or subversion possible within your technological framework?

Remember, the most compelling vignettes aren’t about the technology itself, but about people navigating a world transformed by technology—their adaptations, choices, hopes, and fears in response to changing circumstances.