Speculation and the Design of Development

This paper examines the role of technoscientific speculation in large-scale development projects postcolonial spaces, building on recent work STS, design research, and studies beyond CSCW. We analyze two historical cases technology-infused Canadian province Newfoundland Labrador Jamaica. find that these contexts remixes constructive stance toward typical for normative technoscience with critical, contesting orientation speculative design. Conflicts between stances are resolved by leveraging fantasy pragmatic ends, grounding audacious fictions imported realities, unmooring from conventional understandings linear technological progress, using even conservative futures to trouble colonial conventions.