About
The REAL (REimagining ALgorithmic futures) card deck is designed to inspire and provoke thinking about algorithmic systems and how they shape human lives, society, and our potential futures with technologies. The ultimate goal of the deck is to advocate for a more inclusive dialogue concerning varied algorithmic futures.
What is in the deck?
The deck is built around a series of keywords: threshold, steering, codability, replacement, responsibility, repair, and friction. Each of them has nine cards associated with it: the title card, which features the keyword’s definition, and eight cards with specific questions.
The questions prompt reflection and discussion about features of an algorithmic system. They aim to stimulate thinking and conversations about the values embedded in it, as well as its social and technological implications. The questions are designed with a specific case or example of an algorithmic system.
Who can use the cards?
The REAL card deck is for experts, developers, analysts, consultants, students, and researchers. The REAL cards can be utilized in group interaction and workshops focused on understanding, analysing or designing algorithmic systems. They can be used also individually, for example to aid with refining findings concerning algorithmic systems, or thinking through their potential futures. The questions on the cards can help focus fieldwork observations and interviews, and they can be used as prompts to discuss algorithmic systems, whether existing or ones that are being developed.
How to use them ✨
There is no right or wrong way to use the cards – similarly to Tarot cards. Here is one possibility for how to use them in a group setting. First, set aside the cards with keywords for easy reference. Then, draw two or three question cards from the deck at random, and place them on the table in front of you.
Discuss the keyword(s) represented by those question cards. How do they relate to the algorithmic system? If the cards feature several keywords, how do they relate to one another? Then discuss what the questions reveal about the algorithmic system. You can draw additional question cards when needed, move the cards around, and relate them to one another. If you are not happy with a card you draw, simply replace it by drawing a new one. Continue as long as the discussion remains fruitful, then set the cards aside and draw a new set.
The cards come with an instruction booklet that contains definitions of the keywords, example cases, and more suggestions for using the cards.
Reference
Lehtiniemi, Tuukka; Tanninen, Maiju; Moats, David; Elhadj, Elisa; Eidenskog, Maria; Koskinen, Veera; Kristensen, Dorthe Brogård; Møhl, Perle; Pretnar Žagar, Ajda; Ruckenstein, Minna and Velkova, Julia (2025). REAL – Reimagining algorithmic futures: 63 cards for thinking differently about algorithmic systems. Figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.29222054.v1