Playtesting the Design Fiction Generator

Wanna take the janky time machine for a spin?

Keyword input: Cereal.

Output:

Imagine harder about a future where your breakfast cereal is not just a meal but an interactive experience. This isn't your ordinary box of flakes; it's a smart package that communicates with your kitchen AI to provide a balanced nutritional profile based on your dietary needs and goals. The box features an e-ink display showing real-time news, weather updates, and personalized messages to start your day with a smile. Inside, the cereal pieces are engineered to change color when they've been in milk for the optimal amount of time, ensuring every bite is perfectly crunchy. And for the eco-conscious, the packaging is 100% biodegradable and embedded with seeds—after finishing your cereal, plant the box to grow herbs or flowers. It's a small step towards a sustainable future, blending nutrition, technology, and environmental mindfulness into the first meal of your day.

I've been tinkering with the Design Fiction Generator for some time now. It's a GPT I've crafted that fancies itself as a time-travelling archaeologist digging up artifacts from nearby futures (surprise surprise). You give it a keyword or a concept, and off it zips off in the janky time machine to fetch something from somewhen.

My main interest is seeing these artifacts in all their visual glory, but this generator also spins up a little spec or science fiction to set the scene. It's kind of brilliant how it surprises me with genuinely smart ideas now and then, like cereal that changes color when it's been soaking in milk just long enough. Sure, it can get a bit cliché, dredging up stuff we've seen a million times on TV or in movies. But, with a bit of clever editing and some Photoshop magic, we can polish these rough diamonds into something more striking.

This tool is a blast for sparking a bunch of out-there ideas to fuel your futures-thinking.

I'm handing over the keys to my paid subscribers (see below) to take the janky time machine for a spin. This is your shot to have your design fiction ideas posted right here. If you come up with something you’re digging and want to share, send it over and I’ll consider posting it right here on DFD.

Safe time travels.