Codesigning Generative Futures
Through both my research and practice, I seek to codesign positive digital futures. By this I mean that I develop new technological designs and policies in collaboration with stakeholders, research how well these products serve human needs and potential, create recommendations based on findings, and then socialize the outputs with decision makers and the public. These efforts stand upon a career-long practice of working across national, disciplinary, and cultural borders, currently through a global and North American network of research centers and with stakeholders in government, technology, and design.
When ChatGPT’s impact was first apparent in the fall of 2022, I began the “Codesigning Generative Futures" program with NoC colleagues to address large language models’ impact on the future of the global society, particularly education and work, along with the needed public policy. In May of 2023, my collaborator and I organized a conference of the same name with the support and engagement of colleagues. This Medium post describes the motivation behind and context of this event.
When ChatGPT’s impact was first apparent in the fall of 2022, I began the “Codesigning Generative Futures" program with NoC colleagues to address large language models’ impact on the future of the global society, particularly education and work, along with the needed public policy. In May of 2023, my collaborator and I organized a conference of the same name with the support and engagement of colleagues. This Medium post describes the motivation behind and context of this event.
Multiple kinds of collaborative approaches are needed now to realize positive futures later. The NoC Museum Project is an example of an approach to engage the public and local government. Another example is a new NoC collaborative project that will systematically monitor the progression, collecting data on what different generative AI tools produce, and analyzing the societal implications that these tools produce.