Across five public conversations, invited guests will explore key questions about the future. At the first event, held at Konstfack on 20 August, Jamer Hunt, Professor of Design at Parsons in New York, will meet Darja Isaksson, Director General of Vinnova.
The conversation will be hosted by the presidents of Chalmers and Konstfack, Martin Nilsson Jacobi and Anna Valtonen. The themes and questions take their starting point from the essay The Two As in STEAM, which they co-authored in the spring. The essay attracted considerable attention and was followed, among other things, by an opinion piece in Ny Teknik and a joint seminar during Almedalen Week.
“Our idea is to first imagine possible futures and then work backwards to design the present in ways that can take us there. The reason for bringing art and design into the conversation is to broaden the range of people who feel invited to help shape the development of technology and AI. Ultimately, it is about ensuring that technological development leads to a future we actually want to live in,” says Martin Nilsson Jacobi.
The same underlying idea is behind a forthcoming Tracks course, which will be organised in collaboration with Konstfack in 2027.
The format for the forthcoming stage conversations is based on each invited guest bringing a handful of images to illustrate an idea about the future. They will then ask each other questions, without an interviewer or moderator. The contrast between the guests’ backgrounds and perspectives will provide the driving force for the conversations.
A further conversation in the series will be held at Konstfack in Stockholm on 17 September, while the first event at Chalmers will take place on 6 November.
Practical information is available on the Konstfack website.