Designing Human-Technology Entanglements
Digital information technologies become more and more intimately interwoven with our daily lives. Through developments in sensor technology and material sciences, technologies such as wearables, high-tech garments, smart objects, and assistive technologies become embedded in our environments and on our bodies. This merging of cyber and physical worlds in combination with advances in Artificial Intelligence, gives rise to new questions about what it means to be human in a society where people and digital technologies become intimately connected.
In this symposium we explore how embodied, participatory and artistic design approaches can be used for developing such novel often AI-enabled human-technology entanglements, and which conceptual questions about human-technology relations and the role of ‘agentic technology’ this gives rise to – for example, regarding concepts such as human vulnerability, personal identity, empathy, diversity & disability, human connection and human-technology partnership. The day will offer many perspectives through keynotes, workshops and discussions. Contributors from various disciplines will enrich the debate.
Premiere of the discrete project
At the end of the symposium day, we engage with and present the results of the DiscReTe project (Disconnections and Relationships mediated through Intimate Technologies) in which we developed a conceptual wearable prototype for AI-enabled intimate technologies through dance. We worked with dancers and their embodied ways of being in the world to develop a wearable that facilitates nuanced communication, boundary-setting, and interaction management for individuals with diverse communication needs. This project is associated with the ESDiT research programme.
We present the DiscReTe wearable in a dance performance that is an artistic interpretation of how intimate computing could support human connection through human-technology partnership. The performance is followed by a discussion with the audience, performers and researchers about the project and performance.
programme
Location: Designlab
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Registration and walk-in |
Session 1: Conceptual and Philosophical Reflections
| 10:00 - 10:30 | • Opening and introduction (Dr. Michaela Honauer, UTwente) |
| 10:30 - 11:30 | Remote Keynote by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petra Gemeinboeck (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) |
| 11:30 - 12:30 | Workshop on Vulnerability & Empathy in Intimate Technologies with Dr. Caroline Bollen (TU Delft), Asst. Prof. Dr. Janna van Grunsven (TU Delft), Asst. Prof. Dr. Naomi Jacobs (UTwente) |
| 12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch |
Session 2: Design and method reflections
| 13:30 - 14:15 | Remote Keynote by Asst. Prof. Dr. Sarah Homewood (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) |
| 14:15 - 14:45 | Creative-performative intervention with Asst. Prof. Dr. Edwin Dertien (UTwente) |
| 14:45 - 15:00 | The DiscReTe project as an example for artistic-led approaches (Dr. Michaela Honauer, UTwente) |
| 15:00 - 15:30 | Coffee and tea |
Session 3: Artistic and cross-disciplinary reflections
| 15:30 - 16:30 | Panel discussion on the value of embodied and performative approaches in design and research (moderated by Malou Beemer) |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Move to and walk-in Vrijhof, snacks will be provided |
Location: Vrijhof
Performance premiere
| 17:30 - 17:45 | Introduction to the research project (Dr. Michaela Honauer, UTwente) |
| 17:45 - 18:15 | DiscReTe Dance Performance (with Laisvie Andrea Ochoa Gaevska and Dennis Massar from ConCuerpos inclusive dance company) |
| 18:15 - 19:00 | Q&A with the creators team (Laisvie Ochoa, Dennis Massar, Malou Beemer, Emil Gravier, Michaela Honauer, Birna van Riemsdijk) |
Organizers
Registration
Interested in joining the symposium? Make sure to register beforehand!
Note: Only a limited number of places are available for on-site participation, which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Online registrants will receive the link shortly before the symposium day.
