Abstract:

Digital networks, big data and AI are the latest infrastructural tools of abstraction, coinciding with climate collapse, but not incidental to how it unfolds. With such powerful technology, the reach is global, but planetary does not mean Earth-centric or inclusive. If we could pause (or even rewind) the world, what qualities might we choose for our infrastructures? What cultures might we want to cultivate? And who (and what) should be included when “we” seek answers? My ambition is to learn from glimpses of diverse eco-social futures about possible alternative socio-technical choices. I offer some provocations, drawn from research into community organization and sharing, speculative design, social justice and how creative practices support transformation. My suggestions are modest, not just because my questions are too big to answer, but because I believe the most promising planetary transformations are to be found in work that connects but cannot scale.

Bio:

Ann Light is Professor of Design and Creative Technology, University of Sussex, UK and Professor of Interaction Design, Social Change and Sustainability at Malmö University, Sweden. She is a design researcher and interaction theorist, specializing in participatory practice, human-computer interaction and collaborative future-making, with qualifications in humanities, arts, computer science and artificial intelligence. Her 25-year research career has focused on the politics, ethics and agency of design, exploring eco-social change-making in a range of community settings and leading interdisciplinary teams in diverse fields, from the ethical consumption of coffee to interdisciplinarity itself. She has worked with arts and grass-roots organizations and marginalized groups on five continents and is currently co-leading research on the European Union’s Creative Practices for Transformative Futures (https://creatures-eu.org/) and UK’s Social Justice in the Digital Economy (https://not-equal.tech/). Beyond her academic career, she has 10 years’ professional experience in the design sector and ran an international charity using digital media for cultural exchange.

The Opening keynote will take place on Wednesday, June 29th, from 9:30 – 10:30 (GMT+ 1).