Designing Futures

Description

Technological creations that mimic human existence have been built since antiquity. Today the desire to advance technology is no different than the desire Hephaestus had when building Automatons to work for him and other gods. But unlike the past, today, everyone, not only the gods, can build technology.

This course teaches technological creators of today to visualize the future and design for it. Over the course of the semester, students work in 3 projects based on key trends that prominent forecasters have identified as the main goals of industry and science. Students then present these projects in the form of video, presentations, or physical installations with the goal of transporting the audience and persuading them to use the acquired knowledge to make decisions today.

Takeaway

• Academia and industry come together when students are able to articulate the consequences our actions have in the inventions that industry is making today.
• The ability to visualize ideas is a powerful tool that designers have to influence others into taking action.
• Today everyone is a technological creator. The industry needs critically-engaged designers and creators to help it build innovations that work for people. Not the other way around.

Abstract

Technological creations that mimic human existence have been built since antiquity. Today the desire to advance technology is no different than the desire Hephaestus had when building automatons to serve him and other gods. But unlike the past, today, everyone, not only the gods, can build technology.

If the barrier to building technology and science has decreased, and now everyone can be a creator, what are the main skills designers and entrepreneurs need to have? What is the role of academia in a world where everyone can change millions of people with a few lines of code? what are the skills we need to teach when technology is replacing humans in the workforce?

Design Futures, a graduate course in the school or art and technology, aims to teach students how to think critically about and engage with the future. This course teaches technological creators of today to visualize the future and design for it. Over the course of the semester, students work in 3 projects based on key trends that prominent forecasters have identified as the main goals of industry and science. Students then present these projects in the form of video, presentations, or physical installations with the goal of transporting the audience and persuading them to use the acquired knowledge to make decisions about their future, today.

One project that exemplifies what a student can do when visualizing the future is Dillons Sorrensen's "The Future Of Journalism". Dillon's project visualizes how news will be re-shaped. Gathering of news and distribution functions will change. But most importantly, the continued advancement in wearable devices, voice-user interfaces, and connected homes provide an opportunity for highly customized content creation and delivery to end users.