Responsible Futuring masterclass: relational ai | 21 & 22 November 2024
Radical, Justice and More-than-Human Approaches to Co-Shape AI Futures
Learn in 2 days how to navigate, connect and innovate towards responsible AI futures.
We explore how to embrace relational, justice-oriented and more than human perspectives on the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence. How to acknowledge and challenge existing power dynamics, to prioritize equity and fairness in the development of AI systems? How to co-shape ethical AI futures that acknowledge diverse values and perspectives? Through the framework of Responsible Futuring, we explore AI's potential impacts on society, identifying concrete strategies that help us co-shape intentional and responsible AI futures.
We will use critical and experiental methods to nurture sense making and engage in
- productive contestation of elaborate datasets and models
- algorithmic decisions made by AI systems, and
- relations between humans and AI agents.
Here's what you will learn:
- The theory, principles and steps of Responsible Futuring, with an emphasis on transdisciplinary collaboration, ethical reflection and long-term thinking.
- Understanding the various perspectives and ways of looking at a complex issue. And see the importance of including stakeholder perspectives for issues with societal impact.
- How creative techniques and methods can promote collaboration between stakeholders with different backgrounds and perspectives.
- Working with design methodologies to generate new ideas and concepts, make possible futures tangible and reflect on them.
- How futures research can support strategic choices, innovation and transformation.
- How to apply the approach, tools and techniques in your own work context.
- How a shared and transdisciplinary learning experience uncovers new insights.
For whom?
To create a truly transdisciplinary learning experience for each edition, we encourage diverse groups to participate. During this Masterclass you will work together with people from diverse backgrounds, for example: professionals from businesses and government organisations, entrepreneurs, students, citizens, artists, innovators, change makers, policymakers, futurists and leaders.
Participants in this Masterclass want to:
- use design methods to acknowledge power dynamics and ethical issues in the development and deployment of AI systems
- use futures design to critically reflect on the impacts of AI on society and generate new (responsible) ideas
- explore how they can take an active role themselves as a 'change agent'.
Programme
Day 1 | 09:30-20:00
Day 2 | 09:00-17:00
Speakers and teachers
- dr.ir. C. Zaga (Cristina)
Cristina Zaga is assistant professor at the Human-Centered Design Group at University of Twente. As an advocate for inclusivity, she dedicates her work to transdisciplinarity and relational design methods for just futures of work and care with AI technology. She founded the Responsible Futuring Approach and uses it to tackle societal challenges through technology, challenging the status-quo. Cristina has been involved in various initiatives, such as the Google WomenTechmakers and she has won the NWO Science Diversity and Inclusion Initiative award for her work on DEI4EAI in 2022. The prize fund is dedicated to setting up a Social Justice in AI network, Dutch network of academics, students, and activists committed to mitigating and overcoming the dehumanizing and oppressive effects of AI and embodied AI technology and fostering social and environmental justice. Her research is committed to developing methods, tools, and technology that support societal transitions towards futures of justice, care, and solidarity between communities, nature, and artificial agents. - dr.ir. J. Matos Castaño (Julieta)
Julieta Matos Castaño is a futures researcher and project lead at DesignLab University of Twente. Her expertise lies in developing and experimenting with creative methods to tackle societal challenges and work towards responsible innovation. Being an airport planner and having worked as a change management consultant, Julieta has a transdisciplinary profile that allows her to put her research efforts into practice. She uses her more than 14 years of research and industry experience to collaborate with public institutions, businesses and citizens to co-shape desirable futures. The work of Julieta and her colleagues has been featured at the Dutch Design Week in the last years. She is a Faculty Innovation Fellow at Stanford’s d.school and co-founder of the Speculative Futures Chapter in The Hague (The Netherlands). - dr. J. da Costa (Jairo)
Jairo da Costa is a systems thinker and industrial designer who is passionate about sustainability and social innovation. Looking at systems theory and practice, he examines how systems approaches, methodologies, and tools support design engineers in responding to the increasing complexity of societal challenges in low-income markets.After his doctoral studies, Jairo investigated citizen-driven transitions supported by advances in ICT (e.g., desktop manufacturing technologies) that move people from their traditional role as passive consumers to producers and co-creators of value. HIs research at the University of Twente investigates the impact of systems thinking in design and the implications of integrating systems approaches, methodologies, and tools into design competencies. To tackle societal challenges such as climate change, social digitalisation and health, he looks at how systems thinking helps design engineers better understand, visualise and bring about positive change in complex socio-technical systems
- M. Iliohan (Miriam)
Miriam Iliohan will be moderating this masterclass.
Miriam is co-founder and manager at DesignLab University of Twente. Her broad (international) network, experience, knowledge and enthusiasm in setting-up experimental ecosystems has brought Miriam many other roles. Within the University of Twente she is part of the advisory committee for student teams, member of the steering committee for the (social) Entrepreneurial challenge, speaker and moderator at high-level international events/converstations. In addition, she is Founding Fellow & Coach for the Faculty Innovation Fellows at the Hasso Plattner Institute for Design at Stanford University and Mentor for the University Innovation Fellows program.Sharing her experiences, she gives her network the opportunity to gain insights into investigating new ways of working, collaborating, teaching, learning and conducting research. In addition by using challenges from partners, she brings viewpoints from (international) scientists, entrepreneurs, students, citizens and government officials together to co-create the futures we want to live in.
Practical information
Sign up
Discover how to look at social issues differently, enrich your perspective, and learn to think and act as a speculative designer to develop inspiring alternative futures. Want to delve deeper into the theory of Responsible Futuring, better map stakeholder perspectives, and apply futures research strategically in your own work?