The Imaginary Structure of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

Science fiction is increasingly involved in innovation processes in technological sectors. The imaginary, through design fiction, stimulates the creativity of decision makers and engineers who work to create a better world through technoscience. Science fiction participates in global innovation by constructing sectoral myths and by proposing a new form of rationality integrating the technical imaginary. Imaginnovation is a neologism, a synthesis of the terms imagination and innovation. This practice, already developed in several companies and organizations, will guide the decision-making process during the next industrial revolution. Science fiction appeared more than 200 years ago, when technical progress profoundly changed society. It later became an integral dimension of collective psychology. Its critical dimension must also be considered as a structuring element of the contemporary technical imagination. Innovation realizes imagination and science fiction allows the productive system to access the unconscious fantasies of individuals and social groups.