9. Fabulation*

Tech metaphors shape societal perceptions of technology, often reinforcing power structures and limiting possibilities. This chapter critiques Silicon Valley’s ‘hype’ culture where metaphors such as ‘autonomous vehicles’ and ‘the cloud’ obscure the political and social implications of technology. Hype frames speculative futures as inevitable, using terms like ‘bubbles’ and ‘life cycles’ to mask the subjective nature of tech forecasting. While clarity and specificity are critical to challenging hype, such approaches often exclude non-experts. To democratise tech imaginaries, the authors advocate for fabulation, a storymaking method that dismantles hype and fosters alternative visions. Fabulation emphasises relationality, situatedness, and critical engagement, moving beyond predictive approaches. To illustrate how this method can be implemented, Fables for Imagining, an initiative they helped design as part of the Imaginative Methods Lab, is introduced. This work invites participants to create collaboratively techno-social fables by analysing and reimagining metaphors. Combining archetypal storytelling with lived realities, this process empowers non-experts to critique and reshape technology’s cultural narratives. By crafting alternative stories, the initiative demystifies technological hype and encourages diverse, inclusive imaginaries. Fabulation emerges as a vital tool for resisting dominant tech discourses, fostering critical thinking and envisaging equitable, context-sensitive futures through collective storytelling.