For a few years now, I've been analyzing how technology is represented in fiction and popular culture. I not only mean specific technologies or devices, but also the core concept of what technology is in a given genre, world or story. To illustrate with an example:

In most modern action and superhero movies, technology is always a weapon. We don't see widely-spread infrastructure, we rarely see plot-related neutral technologies, but we see a lot of new threats coming from tech, be it androids, satellites, laser weapons and other McGuffins. It is usually also an artifact, a prototype, something one-of-a-kind that cannot be replicated, or it will lose its plot relevancy. Wakanda cannot revolutionize African electrical grids with Vibranium the same way Iron Man doesn’t replace oil and coal worldwide.

On the other hand, in cyberpunk and dystopian futures, technology is either a means of oppression or rebellion. This time it's usually evil governmental/corporate infrastructure oppressing people, or some disruptive gadgets used by anarchist protagonists. Staying out of the …

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On the 9th of July 2024 I had a pleasure of giving an interview to Nico Heller from the Democracy School, as a part of his Reboot 2030 project!

You can listen to the interview on YouTube and Reboot 2030 Substack as well as Spotify and other podcasting platforms!

The project defines itself as:

Are we headed irreversibly towards catastrophe or do we have what it takes to fundamentally remake our world in time, sustainably, regeneratively and equitably? If so, who are the people and organisations that drive the transition to a sustainably regenerative negative carbon economy and a better life for all? To shed some light on these questions we have created Reboot2030, a podcast and YouTube channel that engages transformational leaders in ongoing dialogues about their vision and work.

This episode's description:

In an era of multiple global crises – from the climate emergency, to rising populism and the existential threats posed by rapid developments in AI – positive visions of a sustainable and regenerative future are urgently needed.

This episode of Reboot2030 explores solarpunk …

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On the 27th of May 2024 the Solarpunk Presents podcast published an interview with me, available on YouTube, Spotify and Google Podcasts. I would like to thank Christina for the invitation to the podcast and a wonderful conversation!

We discussed how the depictions of technology in our culture shape our imaginations of the future, how our treatment of disabled people allows us to see our biases more clearly, what appropriate technology is and how we could start seeing every tech as infrastructure, not artifacts! We also looked at the (often invisible) power structures present when not everybody understands how a technology works. Christina really liked the idea of telling a Solarpunk story through a generational soap opera focusing on a family or a community!

If at any point I make little sense, I have to thank my doggo for a very early morning wake-up ;)

About the podcast:

Solarpunk Presents is a podcast that explores the people and projects working on bringing us a better world today.

Solarpunk is more than just an idea, more than …

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On the 9th of April 2024 I was invited to give a Solarpunk Game Design lecture within the "Games for Future v2: Solarpunk" course for Multimedia | VR-Design (B.A.) & Multimedia Design (M.A.) students of the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle in Germany.

You can find the recording of my lecture on Vimeo (sadly, without the Q&A with the students).

Please feel free to check out the project's wiki as well as its pad and zine!

I mostly focused on defining Solarpunk and sustainable futures and analyzing how to present them using emergent gameplay and emergent narratives, allowing players to intuitively and implicitly understand a lot of the issues which could be hard to communicate explicitly. Some of my examples feature the subtle mechanical encouragement to interact with the community in I Was A Teenage Exocolonist and geopolitcally problematic gameplay balancing of Daybreak.

Huge thanks to professor Jonas Hansen for inviting me and organizing such a wonderful course!

As someone deeply interested in Solarpunk and climate fiction in general, I encountered a lot of recommendations of "The Ministry For The Future" by the esteemed science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson (later: KSR). The endorsements came from activists, academics, writers and game designers, programmers and climate entrepreneurs: everyone around me seemed to be impressed with the book. It is said to draw a comprehensive, grim, realistic, and yet still optimistic trajectory of our civilization towards a better, sustainable future past the Climate Catastrophe. The author consulted it with over 40 scientists, activists, and conservationists who made sure that "The Ministry…" presented us with a grounded vision.

I started reading it deeply intrigued and hopeful, impressed by the scale and scope of the book, stunned by the rawness of the first chapters. However, as I turned the pages, I quickly stopped in my tracks: I realized that "The Ministry…" is very different to what I assumed it is, to what my friends described when recommending it to me.

I struggled to continue, clenching my teeth …

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