We are facing a future where disruptive technologies can redefine what it means to be human. And as our field of practice is being transformed, designers need to engage with technologies in a critical way, in order to counteract a purely tech-driven vision of progress.
This class will journey through a series of topics, such as: cloud computing, gesture-based tech, AI, robotics, wearables, intelligent matter, genomics, and synthetic biology. On every week, students will respond to the lectures by different forms of exploratory, generative research. This practice-based form of learning will be useful as well for the preparation of a longer-format, nature-inspired, UX project that articulates (and sometimes even defies) the use of emerging tech.