For 6 months, Marco and Gen have virtually facilitated two teams for the 2021 Biodesign Challenge. In this episode, Gen interviews their finalist group from Robeson High School in Philadelphia PA.

AULA TLKS | Four teens and a biodesign project that aims to end racism

Should we outsource our human intuition to Artificial Intelligence? AI is a reality that we are facing today. It has proved itself as a helpful tool that helps us crunch huge amounts of data and has even helped us to learn about ourselves. Is making personal decisions like what we should wear, something that makes a statement about who we are to the world, a job that we can trust in the hands of a machine? We are already experiencing the addition of AI in our music choices and in the ads we see. But where's the line?

AULA TLKS | Artificial Intuition with Beatriz Oliva Reid

What is our cost of existence? It’s not a question we often ask ourselves, but an important one nonetheless. What are the invisible costs of our food consumption, demolishing our habitat, and polluting the planet? While other beings are “paying into” the ecosystem just by existing (plans clean polluted air for example), we are draining its resources. This is what artist and graphic designer Guelang Choi, better known as “G”, explores during her time at the AULA Future Lab.

AULA TLKS | Cost of Being with G

We interact with the virtual world daily, and thus generate a trail of information relating to our personal preferences, our biology, and private information such as passwords and account numbers. Our laptops and cell phones seem compact and local, but we forget that they are connected to an invisible world of wires and waves.

Rocío Gauna uses her installation “Wear your Data” to inform us that much of our personal data is so accessible, we may as well take a loudspeaker and announce it to the world. Or better yet, wear it on our clothes.

AULA TLKS | Wear your Data with Rocío Gauna

The future of how we place our bets will most likely involve a new competitor; intelligent algorithms who feed off of previous bets, cultural data, and even real-time biometric information. Artificial intelligence needs only to be told to maximize a certain objective, such as “predict the best-selling t-shirt”, and it will execute on that task.

But could a machine predict something as sacred as human tastes and trends? Afterall, aren’t these things based on fluid events in economics and politics, and influencers like YouTube celebrities or sports stars?

AULA TLKS | Forecasting Hype with Tarik Floyd

We are quickly approaching a world where the digital space is as omnipresent as air. Though we still have physical interfaces, they seem to be the final barrier to be broken before we achieve complete integration with our devices. Perhaps because of our dependence on outside stimulation and material things, we are finding that we have less and less time to look inside ourselves. Our attention is being hijacked, and according to Jinyu Chen, it’s something we should take back.

AULA TLKS | Hyper Reality with Jinyu Chen

Learn how to develop meaningful and innovative projects using bio, circular, speculative, and regenerative design principles. During our programs, you'll build a remarkable portfolio of designs using our network of experts, companies, and facilitators.

Aula Future