way(we) back home
Human-animal relationships in 2050
Speculative Design concept artefacts and worldbuilding
2025
Brief
Use speculative design methodologies to explore the future of human-animal relationships in Estonia. Through research, observation, trend analysis, and storytelling, develop a design outcome that provokes reflection and discussion on pet ownership.
Solution overview
What if getting a pet required emotional certification? We speculated that in Estonia in 2050, the pet ownership is tightly regulated through an emotional compatibility test.
The system is meant to reduce the abandonment and mistreatment of animals by ensuring only emotionally “fit” individuals can adopt pets. However, it raises new social, ethical, and technological dilemmas.
Research
Steep analysis
We began by exploring human-animal relationships in Estonia, examining how issues like anthropomorphism, animal autonomy, and mismatched adoptions can lead to neglect, returns, or abuse.
Fieldwork included visiting pet stores, shelters, and interviewing both pet owners and animal foster homes.
Through STEEP+V analysis, we projected future trends and identified value shifts like the legal recognition of animals as sentient beings and increasing public scrutiny of pet ownership.
Key insight: poor decision-making and lack of education during the adoption process are major contributors to pet abandonment.
Bootlegging
During the ideation phase, we used a bootlegging exercise to rapidly generate alternative futures and provocations, helping us narrow our focus toward the emotional and ethical dimensions of pet ownership.
Focus Area & What If
Based on our research, we asked:
What if regulations for getting a pet became stricter to guarantee compatibility between pets and owners?
We envisioned a system where:
Worldbuilding
Our imagined world: Estonia, 2050
Shelters have merged into a single, state-run institution, responsible for assessing applicants and monitoring ownership.
Getting a pet requires passing a Compatibility Test involving:
If your emotions align with the “Good Pet Owner” Profile, you're approved. If not, you're rejected.
Design Outcome
Our final speculative system includes:
Our artefacts raise discussion on how regulation and technology, when taken to extremes, could lead to unintended consequences such as social inequality, surveillance, and even the commodification of empathy.
