Digital Learning, Copenhagen 2020 Summer Workshop: Designing Ethical Futures

Ethics comes up when things go down. Explore ethical theories to reflect upon what we design and why. Use speculative design to envision the unexpected consequences of new technology. Learn how to create experiences that bring to life ethical theories.

Workshop Dates: July 27–31, 2020 (2 pm–10 pm CEST)

Faculty: Annelie Berner & Monika Seyfried

What is this workshop?

As more and more products become connected – to each other, to us, to their environments – more and more data are being shared, stored, and processed algorithmically.

In this workshop, we will use speculative design to imagine and reflect upon why and how these products are designed and what their implications are. We will create experiences that playfully immerse people into core ethical theories, using those theories to question and re-think how we design with new technology.

What will you learn?

• Understand foundational ethical theories and how they relate to design and technology
• How to create a “provocatype”: prototyping to provoke ethical reflection
• Discover the potentials of new technology
• Map the role of data in connected products and their ecosystems
• Design for difficult decision-making and speculative world-building
• Apply futurescaping design methods to the challenge of unpredictable outcomes of new technology

How will you learn it?

We have a playful and hands-on way of approaching ethics. How can we be inspired by ethical theories to think differently about our design of new technology?

We will use three core elements in this workshop – ethics, futurescaping, and new technology – to spark our inspiration and ground our creative prototyping. We will get hands-on in this exploration, using provocatyping, visualization, collages, and basic mapping to work through the challenging topic of “ethics.”

When we consider ethics and technology, we have to consider both the design of a device or product as it is now, as well as how it could be in the future. Therefore, we will use speculative design and futurescaping methodologies to envision and uncover unexpected outcomes, address possible, probable, and preferable futures.

While some of the workshops will be about getting comfortable with the frameworks around ethics and futurescaping, the emphasis will be on playful responses and imagination of practical ethics, building responses, and creating prototypes that demonstrate your progression and perspective.

So, in just one week, you will create a series of evocative, imaginative but meaningful prototypes that show your point of view and path through the complexity of ethics, speculation, and new tech.

Please note: This workshop is currently undergoing changes in order to be held via remote learning. Please check back soon for a more up-to-date description of the workshop’s activities.

Is this for you?

Yes, if you are interested in how ethics could shape tomorrow’s design and in finding ways to make difficult decisions through hands-on exploration. This workshop has an experimental approach; be prepared to build up thought-provoking projects that explore the role of ethics in the creation process.

What do you need to bring to this workshop?

• A computer

Enroll now: There is a maximum number of 20 places available for each workshop, first come first served. Enrollment will be closed when the workshops are full.