2018

The Conference 2018

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 17:58:06 GMT

Bits and pieces from The Conference & The Festival 2018.

Q&A: Broken Promise Land

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:42:46 GMT

How can we design an internet that works for and not against us?

The Interview Stage by Aktarr – Fadi Barakat

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:39:45 GMT

"There is a lot of profit to be gained from all this diversity. The problem right now is that we're not really good at it."

Q&A: Play

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:27:35 GMT

The notion of "play" is changing. Let's look at the potentials and possible pitfalls of the new playful technologies.

The Interview Stage by Aktarr – Balqis Khattab

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:52:38 GMT

"I want to change the education in Sweden."

The Interview Stage by Aktarr – Maisa Dabus

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:42:41 GMT

"The Malmö model is quite flat, you don't feel much hierarchy here."

Q&A: Innovation is for Everyone

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:32:53 GMT

Let’s unleash the joy of co-creation.
Featuring: Tendayi Viki (Benneli Jacobs), Charlotta Ahlberg (Volvo) and Kenjiro Kirton (HATO) during The Conference 2018.

Q&A: What Is Real?

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:22:08 GMT

What happens to realness when everything can be remixed or repurposed by anyone?

Dr. Lisa Mosconi – Designing Nature

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 15:52:36 GMT

“If you could see the future, what would you have for dinner?”

Dr. Lisa Mosconi, one of the leading experts on how Alzheimer’s is related to our diets, knows better than most that a longer life doesn’t necessarily mean a more healthier life. In her talk, she theorizes about how we – through our diets – can try to slow down the aging process of our brains.

D. Fox Harrell – Impacts of the Avatar Dream

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 15:13:46 GMT

D. Fox Harrell is Professor of Digital Media and Artificial Intelligence at MIT. His research focuses on the relationship between imagination and computation. He founded the MIT Imagination, Computation and Expression Laboratory (ICE Lab) in order to develop new forms of computational narrative, gaming and digital media.

With an emphasis on equity, Harrell explores how virtual identities both implement and transform persistent issues of class, gender, sex, race, ethnicity and the dynamic construction of social categories.

The video contains Creative Commons BY-NC-ND:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Dr. Daisy Ginsberg – Designing Nature

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 15:01:58 GMT

“Better is not the same as good, better hasn't an agenda.”

What is better? Who’s better? Who decides? The design of living matter can be seen as synthetic biology, a way of engineering biology for a better world. Could synthetic biology create life to save the environment? Daisy Ginsberg guides us through research done into the past to help us see what we value the most in the future. By using synthetic biology we can evoke a feeling of loss. Humans dream about better. But “better” isn’t the same as good and changes all the time. What better do we want?

Subchamber Ensmble – "9-5-10"

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:58:32 GMT

Bo Mehr – "Crying"

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:56:48 GMT

Shu Yang Lin – Broken Promise Land

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:55:01 GMT

“We believe we all should have a say in how we make our society.”

TaiwanPDIS co-founder Shu Yang Lin introduces us to rethink the interaction between the government and the civil society. In Taiwan, events for civil hackers are arranged in order for people to participate and together try to improve democracy by means of technology. By changing public websites and making them more democracy friendly, they are able to ”fork” the government and take down all the unwanted sites and make new ones instead. Shu Yang Lin describes this as a non-violent form of communication, an open-space technology that allows the entire society to engage in rational discussions fixed by hackers. It can be seen as an experiment on how to create consensus and gain trust within a large group of people even though they don’t know each other.

Karin Pettersson – Broken Promise Land

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:53:47 GMT

“You don't really know who you are until you're forced to defend it.”

Journalism today is under a lot of pressure. At the same time, more and more hatred have grown on the internet over the past years. This has part to do with populism and other forces that are blatantly undermining the democracy. In her talk, based on years of research, Karin Pettersson examines how social media, Silicon Valley and different threats to democracy are interrelated. She states that the situation is complex, and that public discourses could be the survival of modern journalism.

Ståle Grut – Broken Promise Land

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:52:11 GMT

“This is all feels like a dream now, but technology and society went along really great some years ago.”

Norwegian journalist Stråle Grut’s work for NRKbeta have been described as an experiment on how to make a better comment section. By creating a comment section quiz, it ensures that people know what they are commenting on online. It’s a simple solution to a complex problem, and also a way to improve internet debate by requiring participants to answer these few basic questions first. It also generates people to reflect more, make them become more rational in their thinking and, hopefully, behave better on social medias. The experiment have been referred as ”the best new journalism idea ever” by the American futurist Amy Webb.

Ahd Kamel – Odd Camel from The Magic Kingdom

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:49:54 GMT

"I didn’t want to fight for my already god-given right to live."

This highly personal talk start with actress and filmmaker Ahd Hassan Kamel telling us about her hometown Riyadh in Saudi Arabia (or, as Ahd calls it, the Magic Kingdom). She walks us through childhood traumas and events that has shaped and changed the course of her life so far, with death and rebirth as two constants. She tells us about being broken down and about trying to put her life back together again. It’s a wonderful feat of storytelling, as well as a testament of how you can break stereotypes and make your mark in the world.

Shuli Gilutz – Play

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:43:31 GMT

“The problem is that the industry isn’t working with ethics and childrens rights.”

On the topic of child-centric design, Shuli Gilutz talks about they way that children interact with technology. Many think that the mere interaction is changing the notion of play, but is it? Play, much like motivation, is central to a child’s development (physical, social, emotional and cognitive). All these important factors bring about another pressing matter: ethics. However, most of the industry working with children’s products don’t really have a child-centered design – meaning they don’t conduct enough research using, well, children.

Fredrika Inger – Play

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:42:22 GMT

Play is crucial for a person’s development when it comes to language, problem solving and social interaction (just to name a few examples). Play is also a tool for unleashing creativity and innovation, while at the same time having the perk of being a universal language. But… what is play, really? According to Fredrika Inger, Global Business Area Manager at Children’s IKEA, play is deeply personal. Play has to be spontaneous. Not serious, not obligated. We play to repair, connect, escape, explore, and express.

Magnus Göransson – Play

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:40:33 GMT

"Kids don’t the see the divide between the physical and digital play – but parents do."

The digital world is a new addition to the already wide repertoire of a child’s play landscape, according to Magnus Göransson. During his talk, he speaks about the “fluidity” of kids constant switching between the physical and digital, as well as letting us in on some Lego pilot projects that are dealing with Augmented Reality technology. This, moving forward, will lead to a natural match between “the real” and “the digital” that can spark the playing children’s fantasies even more.

Alexander Silva Lopera – The Brain and How to Build our Future Identities

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:39:04 GMT

“Your brain is modeling reality in real time.”

How do virtual brains and virtual reality affect the way we think, what we do and who we are? Alexander Silva Lopera, a psychologist that specializes in neuroscience at Neurons Inc, guides us through the world of virtual reality and how our brains react to different virtual environments. Our brains are modelling reality in real time and can also create new realities. Virtual reality technology lets us be anyone at any time, unlike any other technology. The way we act or react to things can change with virtual reality, and situations can feel very different in a virtual environment.

Galit Ariel – The Brain and How to Build our Future Identities

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:36:22 GMT

“We believe what we experience first, and we question or check the facts later.”

Our identities are fluent, fragmented and influenced by different processes and influences. They are very much connected to our sense of reality. But then what is 'reality', really? Our reality is the stage on which the 'story' of our lives is played. Typically, we are the main characters, and other people are either participators or spectators.

As emerging technologies such as AR get embedded into our everyday experiences, altering the way we understand and interact with the world, the choices how we believe what we experience, who and what can we really trust?

Jëlly – "Vi har gjort en ocean"

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:35:03 GMT

HUB & Christine Owman – "From Dusk"

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:32:25 GMT

Victoria Percovich Gutierrez & Åsa Bjerndell – All we have is time

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:27:38 GMT

"When eternity is your deadline – what values will end up in the center?"

Victoria Percovich Gutierrez, sustainability strategist with an MBA, and Åsa Bjerndell, lead architect and development manager, are part of the team at White Arkitekter that is working with "Råängen", a unique urban development project in the city of Lund, and its client Lund's Cathedral.

At The Conference, Victoria and Åsa talked about how Råängen is challenging both the traditional values of architecture, urban development and market economy, as well as explain how the classic models of success are normally achieved and created.

What values are crystallized when eternity defines a project? And what purpose is given to the value of sustainability when the perspective of time goes beyond everything we know and rely on today?

Dr. Lynn Rothschild – Designing Nature

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:25:30 GMT

“We have been designing nature for tens of thousands of years and more.”

Charles Darwin said that "biological evolution creates design without a designer”. But what if we could design life somewhere else? With synthetic biology we can, in a way, reprogram life. Just as travel abroad permits new insights into home, so too does the search for life elsewhere allow a more mature scientific, philosophical and ethical perception of life on Earth. We have to learn to live after the land we live in, both on and away from earth, says Astrobiologist and Adjunct professor (Brown University) Dr. Lynn Rothschild.

Tendayi Viki – Innovation is for Everyone

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:23:30 GMT

“Business plans serve to crush your dreams.”

In this talk, Tendayi Viki explores how corporate leaders can go beyond creating physical spaces and innovation labs in order to provide real space for everyone within the organisation to innovate. He presents innovation as someone giving you a bag with pieces of a puzzle, but without a picture of what the puzzle actually looks like. He also talks about the importance of providing people with tool boxes and coaches to create innovation, because it’s a privilege to have both tools and tutors.

Charlotta Ahlberg – Innovation is for Everyone

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:21:52 GMT

"Creativity is not innovation, creativity is a skill."

Drawing from her knowledge and experiences from the innovation departments in large corporate environments, Charlotta talks about how you can take advantage of the enormous strengths and collective brainpower in a global enterprise. For this, she explains how she came to the conclusion that the 6 Ts (two, thirst, thoughts, trust, truce, tenacity) are the real building blocks of success.

Kenjiro Kirton – Innovation is for Everyone

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:20:06 GMT

“Play is the original form of co-creation.”

Being an expert in the noble art of working together with others, Kenjiro Kirton explains how and why co-creation is fundamental for innovation and creativity. He also speaks about the importance of providing people with tools that can challenge how and where innovation can happen.

Simone Rebaudengo – What Is Real?

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:09:25 GMT

“Some things are too fucking good to be real.”

Product and interaction designer Simone Rebaudengo tries to bend this idea of fiction and reality through his own projects and products by looking at everyday objects. He plays with the idea of redefining the value of ‘fake’ objects and what the result of that can tell us about the future. Questions such as whether the ‘fake’ objects actually might be better than the real ones or not, and will objects actually be objective in the future? What happens when objects have opinions and are biased? And what does it feel like to be a vacuum cleaner? Simone ends the talk with exclaiming that things are only gonna get weirder from here.

James Bridle – What Is Real?

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:07:24 GMT

“There’s a concrete and causal relationship between the public understanding of technology and the stability and inequality of democracy in societies that goes on top of it.”

Linda Liukas – Electricity That Loves

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:04:07 GMT

“Code is the new lingua franca.”

Linda Liukas, author of the popular “Hello Ruby” book series, started writing because she thought storytelling was missing from computer science education. Although coding is an overarching theme in the books, her writing is not exclusively about coding. Linda has a great admiration for famous educators like Piaget, and she has a mission to prepare kids for a world where so many of the problems that they encounter are computer-related. She points out that computers are tools for self-expression and problem solving. In her opinion, computers are abstract machines and most of all, technology is built on humanity.

Indy Johar – The Need for a Boring Revolution

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 10:48:43 GMT

"When we create a precarious society, fear becomes a very powerful political device."

In order to build, create and maintain a sustainable future, we need to start a boring revolution. Believing that talking only about the cool parts of science (like AI, new technology and robots) is not going to help us form this revolution. We need to go back to basics. We need to go over things like bureaucracy, governance och the principles of democracy to create trust. Without this trust simple things go wrong. Democratizing the means of production and innovation is all about building towards a counsciousness. We need to empower people in order to form a new type of government. We need to reinvent the concept of governance, and we need to do it now. To have this, as it were, “boring” conversation is really critical.