AI, design, and democracy are terms whose definitions seem ever-expanding. They refer to a wide variety of technical systems, methods, infrastructures, and social practices that are not always in dialogue with each other. This workshop starts out from the assumption that definitions are not an expression of a stable identity, but moments of reading and interpretation of processes in constant change. Rather than relying on disciplinary roles for making clear distinctions between these three notions, participants will be invited to bridge the gap between engineering, design, and philosophy to come up with new relationships that put AI, design, and democracy in dialogue with each other.

The target group for this workshop is MSc. students and PhDs from TPM, IDE, and Computer Science (especially those working on AI). Participants will learn about two case studies (on synthetic media and algorithmic newsfeeds) for which AI has a direct impact on our ideas about democracy. The goal is for participants to develop a critical understanding of the relationships between AI, design, and democracy in an engaging way.