Design for Collaborative Survival: An Inquiry into Human-Fungi Relationships

In response to recent calls for HCI to address ongoing environmental crises and existential threats, this paper introduces the concept of collaborative survival and examines how it shapes the design of interactive artifacts. Collaborative survival describes how our (human) ability to persist as a species is deeply entangled with and dependent upon the health of a multitude of other species. We explore collaborative survival within the context of designing tools for mushroom foraging and reflect on how interactive products can open new pathways for noticing and joining with these entanglements towards preferable futures. In addition to highlighting three tactics—engagement, attunement and expansion—that can guide designs towards multispecies flourishing, our prototypes illustrate the potential for wearable technology to extend the body into the environment.