Using Generative Artificial Intelligence as a design material to prototype more-than-human futures

In this chapter, I explore Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) as a design material for prototyping speculative more-than-human futures. As design research increasingly includes nonhuman stakeholders, such as animals and plants, there is a growing need to imagine artefacts, habitats, and public spaces that support multi-species coexistence. While traditional prototyping focuses on present-day feasibility, GenAI offers new opportunities to visualise futures that are not yet materially or technically realisable. This design-led research investigates how GenAI is used to prototype speculative habitats, public spaces, and artefacts that support multispecies flourishing. Specifically, it investigates how four GenAI tools—Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, ChatGPT Image-4o, and Gemini—can support speculative prototyping through ideation, visualisation, and reframing, then compares how the tools perform in speculative prototyping. The results show three key insights. First, each GenAI tool offers distinct affordances, such as Midjourney’s atmospheric visualisation or Gemini’s unexpected image generation. Second, GenAI outputs can challenge human-centred norms by introducing alternative spatial and aesthetic logics. Third, combining multiple tools supports a more layered and speculative prototyping process.

keywords: more-than-human design; generative artificial intelligence

• year: March 2025 — ongoing