Digital Futures
The Digital Future theme looks at how design is constantly evolving, shaped by technology, culture, and society. This year’s projects explore AI in two ways: as a creative material that sparks new ideas, and as a tool to slow down and create more meaningful experiences. Instead of fixed predictions, they offer open possibilities, reminding us that digital futures are built through curiosity, care, and imagination, always reshaping how we design today.
Dialogue Session
This dialogue session invites participants into an open exploration of how design shapes - and is shaped by - our digital futures. Giving the 4TU projects central stage, we explore digital futures in two critical ways: In Part 1, “AI as Design Material” unfolds through interactive project demos, provocative questions, and shared reflections - mapping how uncertainty and creativity emerge when working with AI; In Part 2, “Designing Beyond Efficiency”, projects prompt us to reconsider speed and optimization, encouraging slower, more meaningful experiences. Through interaction, dialogue, and a collective reflection, we challenge ourselves to move towards action, reimagining how we can design the future.
Programme
9.30 Walk in
9:45 - Introduction to dialogue session, theme and structure
10:00 - Part 1: AI as design material.
Demo of the projects (with participants’ interaction of the projects)
Dialogue triggered by provocative questions
Reflection and mapping of insights
11:00 - Break
11:15 - Part 2: Designing beyond efficiency
Demo of the projects (with participants’ interaction of the projects)
Dialogue triggered by provocative questions
12:15 - Collective reflection: Less Hope, More Action!
12.30 Wrap up and lunch