Tools for Designing Smart, Collaborative Things

28th August 2017 By phil

With the ability to quickly create working AI prototypes that intelligently move, see, hear and speak, designers can go beyond the cliches of AI, and bring collaborative systems into people’s lives that are more humane, more personal, maybe even more inspiring.

Research Fellowship in Delft, Netherlands

In Fall of 2017, I was in residence at TU Delft on a research fellowship to develop concepts and prototypes of a tool for designing smart, collaborative things. Funded by Design United, I worked with Professor Elisa Giaccardi (department of Industrial Design Engineering) to start developing the Delft AI Toolkit visual programming environment for the interaction design of AI.
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Animistic Collaborators in Mixed Reality

21st June 2017 By phil

This summer I’m conducting a research project on new approaches for AI in a Mixed Reality context. The project, extends my work with Animistic Design, but takes a different approach to AI embodiment, using the integration of virtual AI entities with “Real Reality.”

I’m working with five ArtCenter students from our Media Design Practices program: Stephanie Cedeño, Xing Lu, Godiva Reisenbichler, Nan H Tsai, Nicci Yin.

Note: The project completed summer of 2017. Initial work is summarized here: 

cargocollective.com/anicollab/

Project Description

This 2017 summer research project will explore how AI based, non-anthropomorphic animistic entities could work as colleagues and collaborators in Mixed Reality.
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Animistic Design – A New Approach to IoT & AI

16th March 2016 By phil

In a newly published paper, “Animistic design: how to reimagine digital interaction between the human and the nonhuman” (Digital Creativity – Special Issue: Post-Anthropocentric Creativity), my co-author Betti Marenko and I argue that a new model is needed for design in an Internet of Things world. We think it’s time to rethink the standards of Human Centered Design, AI, and interaction design, especially for open-ended, creative contexts, whether that’s directing a self-driving car, planning a vacation, or solving a hard legal problem.

See my Medium post “Rethink IxD” on this topic.

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