• A gap remains in translating child-centred AI goals from theory and policy into practice – a gap which HCI and participatory design seem well-placed to address through participatory methods. • We contribute, firstly, the co-design stories Toolkit, an adaptable tool for participatory research, here applied with a participatory design futuring framing to springboard into speculative imaginaries on AI and learning. • Secondly, we contribute a set of child-led narratives and design concepts on AI's impact on learning futures and child rights, foregrounding what matters about AI to children themselves. What are children's perspectives on how AI could impact their learning futures? The concept of child-centered AI (CCAI) highlights the importance of children's involvement and their rights in the design of AI futures. However, a gap remains in translating CCAI goals from theory and policy into practice – a gap which HCI and Participatory Design seem well-placed to address. We conducted initial, exploratory Participatory Design Futuring (PDF) workshops with 14 children (aged 3–10) and their families in the UK, envisioning a futuristic design client, ‘SmartSchool’, who sought AI solutions to make learning better and more playful in the year 2123. We contribute, firstly, the Co-Design Stories Toolkit, an adaptable tool for participatory research, here applied with a PDF framing to springboard into speculative imaginaries on AI and learning. Secondly, we contribute a set of child-led narratives and design concepts on AI's impact on learning futures and child rights, foregrounding what matters about AI to children themselves.

Amidst a growing body of work in HCI focusing on designing systems that engage with care relationships, there is increasing interest in expanding notions of care beyond transactional practices, towards broader notions of “care ecologies”. However, how can we support care systems designers to apply these concepts in practice? This paper presents the Care Spectrums, a set of sensitising concepts for designers to explore and apply to their practice. Developed as a response to a design probe exercise (the CareTree) which was carried out with 14 participants over one month, the Care Spectrums respond to the multiplicity of expressions of care in participants’ everyday lives. Translated into a design resource (the ‘Co-Designing with Care’ card deck), and trialled with 10 designers, the Care Spectrums revealed hidden caring and uncaring practices in designers’ projects, and stimulated opportunities for designing with and for people's complex and entangled care ecologies.

Smart contract systems could change the nature of last-mile delivery for the better through enhanced precision, coordination and accountability. However, technological complexity poses a challenge for end-users participating in the design process, making it hard to explore their experiences and incorporate their perspectives. We describe a case study where technological prototypes create smart contract experiences for professional couriers and receptionists, allowing them to speculate about emerging possibilities, whilst remaining grounded in their current practices. Participants enacted a series of deliveries, choreographed by smart contracts, and their responses were explored in post-experience, one-to-one interviews. Working with professionals to explore the potential impact of smart contract technologies, revealed the systemic webs of value underlying their existing work practices. This has implications for design of such technologies, in which increased automation, efficiency and accountability must be delicately balanced with the benefits of sustaining personal values, relationships and agency.

Distributed energy resources are expected to radically change the way energy is produced and distributed through decentralised generation and storage. Current distributed energy models tend to hide the complexity of these systems in order to improve ease of use, while restricting people's participation to predefined roles of passive users who can benefit from more reliable infrastructures, more competitive prices, and more access to sustainable energy. In this paper, we question these roles and present the Karma Kettle, an open-ended device that aims to explore perceptions of different levels of agency in distributed energy resources. A study of the Karma Kettle with 20 residents of a block of flats in the UK reveals strategies and values of these residents, the effectiveness of the Karma Kettle to inspire discussion on levels of agency, and how these systems could be designed to promote more participatory approaches in distributed energy systems.

This paper presents GeoPact, an assembly of technological objects that materialises location-aware smart contracts using internet of things and digital ledger technologies. Such contracts may facilitate the creation of distributed systems and services for transport and logistics that are locally constructed and adaptable, thus supporting specific community needs and sustainable objectives. However the technological infrastructures that underpin these systems are complex, making it difficult to engage publics in design processes. GeoPact grounds infrastructure in relatable physical activities, that are linked with holistic views of the system, and creates new experiences for public engagement. In these activities participants were invited to roleplay as couriers, and to progress through delivery scenarios which were governed by smart contracts. Participants and spectators were then encouraged to discuss their reactions, concerns and ideas. This paper illustrates the GeoPact assembly and reflects on our engagement activities.