The ethical use of emerging technologies and tools

Are you unsure about when and how to use AI effectively? Join us for the in-person workshop, "To AI or Not to AI – The Critical Use of Emerging Technologies and Tools." This workshop features guided lessons and hands-on collaborative sessions.

You will gain practical skills and methodologies to navigate the AI-driven landscape within the context of your projects and work. Participants will critically engage with AI-powered tools and tactics, exploring how they function and reshape information, influence, and the adversarial landscape. You will also define your own boundaries, deciding when, why, and how to use these tools, while learning to mitigate the risks of over-reliance. Additionally, we will address the hidden costs and broader implications of using AI, even when employed effectively. You will also design your own project, examining the role that AI can play in, or already plays in, accelerating the culture of consumption.

This workshop, designed for all levels of expertise, is structured in three main sections to provide participants with a fast track to informed decision-making:

1. Laying the Groundwork: An introduction to AI, including how it works, its potentials and limitations, and the power structures behind it. We will explore the narratives surrounding AI and how they impact public perception.

2. Understanding the Terrain: Identifying the questions facing your projects and work. Through hands-on exercises, you will gain practical skills to navigate AI confidently. We will discuss the available tools and their implications.

3. Scanning the Horizon: Getting started with the key considerations of 'if, what, when, how, and why' in using AI for your work.

Design-Focused Activities: The activities are designed to achieve two main objectives:

1. To build the capacity of students in the design field to create projects that critically explore the uses, impacts, and debates surrounding AI. The hands-on exercises will spark conversations about creative formats to explore the AI landscape.

2. To enhance students' skills in using AI as a tool for creativity in exercises such as data analysis, data visualization, and content creation, coding, all within a critical framework that encourages mindfulness and careful consideration of when and how to use AI.

What students need to bring:

• Laptops
• Access to the basic AI-powered tools. Related Instructions on the specific tools and alternatives to prioritise safety will be shared with the students weeks previous the workshop.
• Notebooks and pens

Workshop language: English