talk at nexa

On the 27th of November, I had the pleasure of sharing my research perspectives and experiences at Nexa Center for Internet and Society, as guest speaker for the 118° Nexa Lunch Seminar.

In my talk, titled “From drones to sparkles. A designerly take on AI critique”, I shared about my view on AI critique starting from the question: how do matters of control on autonomous weapon systems relate to magical wands and sparkles? And how can we exercise imagination to challenge deterministic assumptions we collectively held around AI?

The talk engaged with these seemingly unrelated questions to encourage a discussion on the importance of understanding and accounting for the public perception of AI. From dreams of efficiency and liberation to fears of obsolescence and subordination, AI comes embedded into specific socio-technical imaginaries that have sedimented through history and have become political devices.

I built upon personal work to underscore how design, in its broadest definition, can contribute to shaping the narratives that feed these popular imaginaries but also can challenge dominant assumtpions and act as a force for collective imagination.