Leandro Incetta
Leandro Incetta

Tarot cards of tech

The Tarot Cards of Tech are a set of provocations designed by Artefact to help creators more fully consider the impact of technology. They will not only help you foresee unintended consequences-they can also reveal opportunities for creating positive change.

http://tarotcardsoftech.artefactgroup.com/

Scale and disruption

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The scandal

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What’s the worst headline about your product you can imagine?
  • What about your business model would concern users most?
  • In what scenarios could your product cause harm or endanger people?
  • If your product was used entirely opposite of how it’s intended, what does that look like?

The smash-hit

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What happens when 100 million people use your product?
  • What would mass scale usage of your product reveal or cause?
  • How might a community change if 80% of residents used your product?
  • How could habits and norms change?

The radio star

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Who or what disappears if your product is successful?
  • Who loses their job?
  • What are other products or services are replaced?
  • What industries, institutions, or policies would be affected?

Mother nature

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If the environment was your client, how would your product change?
  • What feedback would the environment give about your product?
  • What is the most unsustainable behavior your product encourages?

Usage

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The siren

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What would using your product “too much” look like?
  • How does your product encourage users to engage, and how does it make it easy to disconnect?
  • How does your product respect people’s boundaries and the other parts of their lives?
  • In what situations might it be inappropriate or distracting to use your product?

The BFFs

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If two friends use your product, how could it enhance or detract from their relationship?
  • How does your product change or create new ways for people to interact?
  • Does your product fill or change a role previously filled by a person?

The superfan

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How would a community of your most passionate users behave?
  • What “rules of engagement” does your product rely on, and how might these be subverted?
  • In what ways might the community be an asset? In what ways might it become a liability?
  • If your product involves discourse, what does positive and negative communication look like?

The big bad wolf

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What could a bad actor do with your product?
  • What would predatory and exploitative behavior look like with your product?
  • What product features are most vulnerable to manipulation?
  • Who could be targeted with your product?

Equity and access

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The forgotten

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When you picture your user base, who is excluded? If they used your product, what would their experience be like?
  • Whose perspective is missing from product development?
  • Pretend the opposite of your assumptions about your core user are true—how does that change your product?

The service dog

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If your product was entirely dedicated to empowering the lives of an underserved population, what kind of impact could you make?
  • Who could your product most directly benefit outside of your targeted users?
  • How would your product change to better serve them?

The catalyst

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How might cultural habits change how your product is used? And how might your product change cultural habits?
  • What context would an alien from outer space need to use or understand your product?
  • What social norms, etiquette, or traditions could change because of your product?

The backstabber

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What could cause people to lose trust in your product?
  • What could make people feel unsafe or exposed?
  • What mechanisms are in place for listening to your users?
  • How will you recognize larger patterns in feedback so that action can be taken?