Fireside Chats with Empathic Futures Lab

In this episode, Christian and Colter sit down with architect Alex Bahr in the lobby of UIC’s Gallery 400 to discuss speculative architecture, subversive detailing, and alternative means of shaping the built environment. Bahr’s thesis project, the Play of Parts is also explored, check it out at the link below!   The Play of Parts (Portfolio +Thesis)  https://issuu.com/alexbahr9/docs/alexbahr__thesis_book_pages   Alex Bahr’s Website https://alexander-bahr.squarespace.com/

This episode’s home base is “AI” or rather...the current iteration of AI which attempts to pass as Intelligent. The idea behind the conversation is really that AI is at the cusp of being quite useful but it still is flopping around, making decisions that are almost right but wrong in silly ways.   Essentially, the conversation is about Dumb AI.   Enjoy.

Welcome to another episode of Empathic Futures Lab. This one features a guest appearance by Souyma Dasgupta. It's a pretty intellectual episode (after 5 minutes of fun/goofy introduction anyways) so buckle up. It was a really good discussion if you like that sort of thing.    The topic is about “Authenticity” and “Heritage.” Soumya is a Phd student who’s research centers around the topic. Colter too has researched the topic a bit. We start the discussion by defining the subject, what it means, and what it means to us in particular.   Colter discusses how he’s interested in unpacking or exploding authenticity because of how he perceives the inauthenticity around him. Souyma explains the nuances of heritage to his research. He explains the difficulty of even defining what is “authentic” at any one time.   This sort of sets us up for the largest talking point of the episode: We discuss authenticity and how it is derived from/related to identity. Moreover, how do we even draw define or draw boundaries around “identity?”   It’s probably one of our best discussions to date. Enjoy.

We are trying this new thing where we come up with a topic and then just riff on ideas that come from that topic. This episode’s discussion was nominally about “interfaces.” That was our jumping off point, our “home plate” if you will, was interfaces or invisible interfaces.   Before we jump into the ideas though, we define what we mean by interfaces and what we mean by “invisible” interfaces. We discuss what effects they might have on society at this point in time. I’m pretty sure Colter uses the word “automagically” at some point during this section.   We then get into Christian’s idea and riff on it for a bit. It gets fun from there. The speculation is based on if your interfaces were connected to particular people or places.   Our following discussion gets into place based interfaces. How would that work and would that be better or worse? And does that relate to the demographic composition of that said place?   Colter then brings up the new Dimension that he has discovered in technology. This part is actually quite interesting as well. You should take a listen.   Hope you had fun. Listen again next time.

This discussion is our follow-up to our last discussion on Mirror World’s. This time, we have Colter on with us as well.   We start by discussing different ideas for mirror worlds such as how we might simulate feelings or very large spaces within the context of small physical spaces.   Somehow, we end up on a tangent of really “bad” technology. Ideas such as the digital murphy bed, America’s funniest AI home videos, and what’s the dumbest thing that you can make self driving?   The first part of the episode is really just a giant tangent though. Eventually we work our way back to the real discussion. Colter get’s us started by bringing up the differences between working in physical vs digital design processes. Particularly, he brings up the idea of svelteness or the scale/fuzziness that occurs in the physical world that we do not get in the digital world.   He brings up Dreams by Media Moleculte: https://www.mediamolecule.com/games/dreams as an example of sveltness in the digital world.   This leads us to a discussion about the human-ness of this technology. How do we get people started in digital tools vs physical things? How do we expose room for error?   What does it mean to be “literate” in 3D modeling in a truly digital world? What does it mean to be design literate in general? Does this increase or decrease the value of design?    

This episode was inspired by Kevin Kelly's MirrorWorld article for Wired. Here is the link: https://www.wired.com/story/mirrorworld-ar-next-big-tech-platform/ Our conversation starts with summing up the article and describing what a Mirror World actually is as an augmented reality future. While doing this, we dig into particular sections of Kelly's writing starting with his ideas of "super vision" - the ability AR might gives us to see the digital insides of every object. We then discuss what "authenticity" means in a world such as this where we can augment reality - past, present, future melding into one - on top of what "actually" exists. How does this change how we understand "place"? What is "place" in a world where we have a much larger control over how we experience space? Does placemaking no longer necessitate building new buildings and should we then discuss new business models for create places? What does it look like to design something for the mirror world? Or is it purely a visual overlay? Why pay for architecture if all of the cool stuff is just an overlay? Then we get to this point in the discussion where we ask if the future of architecture is quite literally "green". Mirror World article with the mountains and school children that we discuss. http://blog.leapmotion.com/mirrorworlds/ For those of you looking for the Architectural Intelligence book that was referenced a couple times, it is here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/architectural-intelligen ce Instagram photobooth article: https://www.theringer.com/tech/2019/1/23/18193574/instagram-photo-wall-personal-home

At Empathic Futures Lab, we often put technology on a pedestal. This episode's discussion is about stepping back and trying to figure out how to get away from technology when we feel the need to. Colter is back with us as well this week. The episode starts off with Colter discussing this time in a sensory deprivation tank and what that experience meant to him and how he thought about "being." We then discuss how we can build off of cheaper or easier DIY solutions for that. Is there a difference between consuming vs producing in terms of overload? We then discuss why offices and coffee shops are different in terms of production? Often times, it seems we enjoy working in coffee shops more than offices... How does out attention work and how can we plan for that in terms of which environments we live and work in? Is this large number of  distractions a problem for us as humans? We then discuss who is best able to fix the issues? Is it the technologists themselves or our public servants or someone else? Do we needs apps to mitigate our app overload?  We then discuss Front Porch Forum, its article on the Verge, linked below, and how it gives an example of how perhaps apps can be beneficial to the larger community...though by perhaps forgoing revenue streams to do so.  https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/24/18129437/front-porch-forum-vermont-social-network-listserv-local-online-community  This leads to a discussion on what is "premium" engagement? What does it mean online and what does it mean as an "environment?"  Colter brings up Sea Ranch as an example of a "premium" environment: https://www.google.com/search?q=sea+ranch&rlz=1C1MSIM_enUS651US651&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiL9u7l4LjgAhWL5IMKHQUUCeAQ_AUIDygC&biw=1920&bih=938  We end on a thought that Colter brings up: "How do you make good design high volume, low margin"? Trickle up design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yCh4_5i_5o 

Christian and Chris step back into the news cycle (or at least the news cycle at the time that this was recorded rather than the time of release) to discuss AirBnB's recent announcement of their Project Backyard. Not much new has come from AirBnb since that initial press release.  We start the discussion by talking about what AirBnB is and what it means to produce "authentic" experiences in the real world through a digital application. We then discuss why AirBnb might get into the physical nature of architecture and what that might mean for the industry of architecture. We conclude by diving into how successful AirBnB might be in creating new architecture, how that architecture might affect the places that it is located in, and what all that data collection might mean to the people who live in that architecture.  Spoiler alert: we think they will do a good job on the actual physical product. Jury is still out and if it'll be good overall or not.    AirBnB best instagram experience referenced in the episode: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/362343    AirBnB/Samara Backyard: https://samara.com/ 

This episode features a special guest: Colter Wehmeier. Christian and Colter took on the final design and construction of the Digital Picnic and absolutely killed it. It looked great while it was up. Colter is a fascinating and very intelligent guy so it was great fun to have it on the show.  During the episode we discuss the Digital Picnic, the design decisions that we made as well as how it turned out. We also discussed the future of technology in terms of the immersing the digital world within the physical world and what happens when we blur or even remove the boundaries between the digital and physical environments. 

Christian and Chris delve discuss the how the digital world is formalized in the physical world through interface design. They discuss how our interfaces and interactions with digital environments have evolved over time.  How have physical forms of digital entities been explored in the past and what has led to the reduction of formal elements over time?  Is the phone really the best universal interface? What do stores such as the Amazon Go Store or Nike's new House of Innovation mean for architecture and digital design? How does an entire building act as an interface for people's interactions in the world? Y2K Futurism: https://www.google.com/search?q=y2k+futurism&rlz=1C1VLSB_enUS781US781&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt17vRtKrfAhWJq4MKHci6C8kQ_AUIDigB&biw=1920&bih=938  Gun for Shooting Tears: https://www.dezeen.com/2016/11/02/tear-gun-yi-fei-chen-design-academy-eindhoven-dutch-design-week-2016/  Nike Flagship NYC: https://www.fastcompany.com/video/will-nikes-new-store-reinvent-retail/7rZ7xQAd  Hyper Surfaces: https://www.hypersurfaces.com/  Knocki: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/knocki/knocki-make-any-surface-smart/description  VR Healing:  https://archpaper.com/2018/10/the-future-of-healing-is-probably-virtual/?fbclid=IwAR1Ggw_wBNI2eaYw8s8fAMnzZmbm9OazSvC3EN7Z5xsfkDRmMf82GvGMAlQ#gallery-0-slide-4  Strange Nike Forms: http://michaelmarczew.ski/?fbclid=IwAR16vbEU8V8zE1icTO7zI00R_lS8yB5PCE8QnXIsqNEZRZq0f8Aucwnedzc#/nike-air-max/   

This week, we started out discussing biases in our media, machine learning, and our world in general. This lead to a discussion revolving around how do you temper the bias in Artificial Intelligences, looking specifically at Amazon's intelligent resume filter.  Do you set up distributed systems that put that check on rogue bias?  How do you establish a transparency and tell people the bias included in particular systems?  We ask all these questions and more in this week's episode Some related links. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-jobs-automation-insight/amazon-scraps-secret-ai-recruiting-tool-that-showed-bias-against-women-idUSKCN1MK08G https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-facial-recognition-congress-bias-law-enforcement/ https://www.wired.com/story/why-men-dont-believe-the-data-on-gender-bias-in-science/ https://www.wired.com/story/why-ai-is-still-waiting-for-its-ethics-transplant/

This week, Chris and Christian discuss advertising and the media. They begin by trying to define a basis for what media is.  They then contrast the human focused characteristics of media with that of more  natural landscapes.  Following this they question the incentive structures of media and how that might be augmented to introduce a system that is more "fair." From there they discuss a few different ideas about the physical space that media might exist in.  Additionally, is it possible that if people are able to physical connect to their media outlets, do they find them to be more trustworthy and dependable? A few links for information that was referenced during the discussion: Regarding Media Incentive Structures https://medium.com/@SeanBlanda/medium-and-the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news-anymore-c98068fec3f8  Regarding the Evolution of Media Environments https://www.ted.com/talks/zeynep_tufekci_we_re_building_a_dystopia_just_to_make_people_click_on_ads#t-1363330     

We're Back! Season 2 is finally kicking off after a long layoff. We hope to have a good season for you all.  In this episode, we recap what we did with our Summer. Go over what we have done this fall with our installation in the lead up to today. We go over what are next projects are for Empathic Futures Lab. Finally we touch on the future of this podcast and what sorts of topics we want to addresss.  It's a bit rambling at times but it does the job of setting up this season.  Thanks for tuning in and hope you stick around for the real meat of the season next week and beyond. 

In this 20th episode we discuss the role that reputation will play in the future.  We worked from a poignant article written in Fast Company by Gloria Origgi, an Italian philosopher.  In this piece she dissects how she believs that reputation will take over information as the primary driver for how we make decisions.  From here we discuss how reputation and branding interact.  We also discuss the role that biases play in our understanding of reputation, and how you might be able to shift those biases.  But when reputation is so significant you need a real way to verify someone or something is who they say they are.  And we think that is where Foam may come in.  A blockchain system designed to provide proof of location based on interactions in a physical world.  And we discuss more, so tune in to this episode to get the full scoop of ideas.   Reputation Article: https://www.fastcompany.com/40565050/say-goodbye-to-the-information-age-its-all-about-reputation-now   Foam Protocol, Ethereum Block Chain System: https://blog.foam.space/introducing-the-foam-protocol-2598d2f71417    Be sure to check out our weekly newsletter here:   https://wordpress.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=dbf620955f84c3d9b8321ea7b&id=4d5745e1b3  And our blog for more information and excitign content: https://empathicfutures.wordpress.com/ 

In this episode Chris and Christian discuss the architectural detail.  How its meaning has evolved over time, and what its significant might be in today's archtectural landscape.  Using Edward Ford's The Architectural Detail as the primary conversation vehicle, we start by picking apart the 5 definition of architectural detail that he identifies.  Following this we decide to pit two of those definitions against each other and explore the validity of each, the joint vs the autonomous detail.  "What role does the autonomous detail play in the future of design?" and "how might an intimate element of building design be an active participant in the experience of environment?" are among the conversation topics, here.   Partial Intro to The Architectural Detail: https://issuu.com/papress/docs/architectural_detail_screen    Ideo's article about AI infused design objects: https://www.ideo.com/blog/what-the-ai-products-of-tomorrow-might-look-like    Future Cities Lab: http://www.future-cities-lab.net/datagrove    Be sure to check out our weekly newsletter here:   https://wordpress.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=dbf620955f84c3d9b8321ea7b&id=4d5745e1b3  And our blog for more information and excitign content: https://empathicfutures.wordpress.com/ 

This week we got the conversation kicked off with a segway from Molly Wright Steenson's Architectural Intelligence.  Here she introduced both of us to a fresh take on the work of Christopher Alexander, and because of this we decided to dedicate a full episode to exploring the structure of A Pattern Language.  We initially looked at the comparison drawn between Alexander's approach to objectivity in design and Eisenman's approach.  From there we discussed what it means to make a public critically aware and engaged with their physical environment and which approach was better at accomplishing this goal.  This discussion then led us to consider how a language evolves and changes over time.  Chris raised the point about how slang and new words are adopted into a language and how that adoption is applicable in the architectural realm.  Given that we have more parameters in just the last 20 years that we now have to facilitate in design how should a pattern language continue to evolve and augment itself over time, and what agency to individuals have to make this change in their own design decisions.    Newsletter signup: https://wordpress.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=dbf620955f84c3d9b8321ea7b&id=4d5745e1b3 Pattern Language Website: https://www.patternlanguage.com/    Christopher Alexander Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98LdFA-_zfA    Molly Wright Steenson Architectural Intelligence: http://www.girlwonder.com/papers-articles    Empathic Futures Lab Blog by Christian Pepper - Evolved Pattern Language - 1: https://empathicfutures.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/advanced-pattern-language-1/ 

Are installations the key to unlocking the future of architecture? The small scale at which they operate allows them the flexibility to explore a wider range of ideas and potential solutions. If approached as part of a larger framework of research and exploration, rather than one-off creative outburts, perhaps they can be better used to push our understanding of our environment further, not just in terms of architecture, but in terms of all the disciplines. To not do this is almost a missed opportunity.  In this episode, our conversations covers those questions above as well as well as perhaps how to answer these questions: "What is the basic value that installation design can provide?", "Does providing a value hierarchy in discipline much like installation design allow us to see more opportunities?", and other questions.   Finally here are the links that we referred to in the podcast: Newsletter signup: https://wordpress.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=dbf620955f84c3d9b8321ea7b&id=4d5745e1b3 Second Story Blog about Responsive Wall https://blog.secondstory.com/2016/09/20/stepping-into-the-future-of-collaborative-workspaces/    Sapient Razorfish Hacking Architecture: https://admin.podbean.com/empathicfutures/episode/update/id/BD6W4905F45    Importance of Site Specificity to Design: http://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/whatever-you-do-dont-call-daniel-buren-art-installation/    Light Frieze: https://admin.podbean.com/empathicfutures/episode/update/id/BD6W4905F45    Hackable Wall Paint: https://www.designboom.com/technology/disney-research-smart-wall-04-26-2018/         

This episode was a sort of rambling discussion on what we mean when we discuss experience. We really just ask how we can nail down an experience and add a little context to what we mean when we discuss experience. It is a topic that is never too far from our discussion points and yet there is no real easy way to define it. It is extremely vague.  We eventually get to the point where we discuss how we can think about a potential installation that works with and changes according to how people experience space.   

We kicked this episode off with a brief history of fiction and the speculative design. Beginning in the 60s looking at Archigram, Ant Farm, Superstudio, and Buckminster Fuller.  We briefly explored how these groups approached speculative futures and discussed the categories those may fall into.   Then we moved on to examples of the current paradigm, focus on the merits of Jimenez Lai, Near Future Laboratory, and Tomorrow's Thoughts Today and disucssed the importance of grounding the fiction in a relevant real world issue. . Then we discussedthe role of fiction, how is it a useful tool and when is it merely art for the sake of art. One particular note was how it relates to sci-fi and its job of describing design to the larger public. Then we discussed how these ideas might coellesce in an up-coming seminar led by Christian at the UIUC ISoA, and how the idea for that seminar was inspired by our Fairy Tales Competition entry.  From the Fairy Tales Competition entry we gleamed the significance of perspective when telling a fictional story in relation to design.  The episode was concluding by reiterating how great design fiction is heavily influenced by a thoughtful researched approch and perspective.   Relevant Links to the Podcast: Archigram http://archigram.westminster.ac.uk/   Ant Farm http://www.spatialagency.net/database/ant.farm    Buckminster Fuller http://www.spatialagency.net/database/buckminster.fuller    Near Future Laboratory http://nearfuturelaboratory.com/    Tomorrow's Thoughts Today http://www.tomorrowsthoughtstoday.com/    Jimenez Lai: Citizens of No Place http://bureau-spectacular.net/citizens-of-no-place 

In this episode, we delve into some ideas for the future of the business of architecture. As technology and culture progress towards this world of shared experiences and minimal costs to distribution and manufacturing, how does the nature of space, and who runs space, change? Are architects and their businesses on the right side of history?  (resources discussed are linked below) We start by introducing the topic through a Sidewalk Labs "Sidewalk Talks" event and what was discussed there. Christian then introduces us to this idea of Megaforms and how businesses like WeWork and Sidewalk Labs can be compared to megaforms discussed by past theorists like ArchiGram's plug in city. We then briefly discuss how Sidewalk Labs could make money. Perhaps the biggest chunk of this episode then discusses how WeWork leverages inefficiencies in the architectural business model in terms of how architects don't leverage the information at their disposal as well as tech companies do. Architecture firms also integrate towards construction but can a case be made to instead integrate towards experience instead? What other sources of experience can we leverage? WeWork is expanding greatly, Sidewalk Labs is pushing towards Smart Cities, and there are opportunities in Brand Stragegy. What is next? Resources below: WeWork https://medium.com/the-new-york-times/dea65ee90cb5 http://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/the-interloper-wework-upends-the-conventional-architecture-firm_o Sidewalk Labs: https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/16/alphabet-google-sidewalk-labs-toronto-quayside/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKbCMWDf0Xc http://www.miles.city/ https://bulletin.co/pages/about https://www.sidewalklabs.com/blog/street-life-after-retail-5-scenarios-that-imagine-the-future/ ArchiGram https://www.archdaily.com/399329/ad-classics-the-plug-in-city-peter-cook-archigram