Track 2: Design, Performativity, STS (w/ Michael Arribas-Ayllon, Cardiff University). Title: Researching experience: engineering `synergetic prosperity'. Abstract: This paper is based on research undertaken by partners to the EU-FP7 project, ICTethics. We review the current role of experience research in design, development and deployment of embedded and socially intelligent computing, and suggest a programme of enquiry and participation. The European vision for Ambient Intelligence (AmI), developed in the late 90s, came under scrutiny during the first decade of this century. In particular, critiques by ELSA researchers in Europe have been aimed at "Scenarios for Ambient Intelligence in 2010" and other work of the Information Society Technologies Advisory Group (ISTAG) at the European Commission, manifesting AmI research perspectives and paradigms. While the scenarios served an important strategic purpose of identifying necessary research and development in order to make AmI `technically' possible, AmI visionaries and research leaders have accepted that the social-cultural contents of the 90s vision failed to be realistic, let alone acceptable. Our point of departure in this paper, are the new AmI perspectives and paradigms that still stand to be tried. The early vision argued for interactive environments that should be unobtrusive and supportive from an end-user perspective but their prominent purpose, as stated by visionaries, was to increase effectiveness and productivity. The requirements of unobtrusiveness and support remain, however, there has been a shift of purpose towards supporting care, well-being, creativity and social connectedness. We take a look at the concepts used by AmI visionaries and research leaders, in particular concepts associated with a vision of truly user-centred approach to design by way of experience research which, the visionaries suggest, will lead to synergetic prosperity. Rather than asking what experience research can or cannot realise in terms of acceptability and reception, we examine its premise as articulated by engineers. We review what they tell us about design for everyday sociality, how they construct venues for semi-realistic experiences, and what they expect from interdisciplinary teamwork, involving psychologists, anthropologists and the creative industries. We review their arguments, who works in their experience labs, and what they anticipate to discover about social intelligence, social connectedness and other phenomena of current interest among AmI researchers. Finally, we explore what the role of STS and ELSA researchers could be in experience research. We suggest an approach to enquiry and participation which coincides with the key objective of the ICTethics project to develop embedded and operational participation within the AmI research community.