Digital Futures Young Scientist Conference
February 22-23, 2024
Digital Futures, KTH Campus, Osquars backe 5
Human-centered and Sustainable Cyber-physical Systems: How can we build better intelligent systems?
Abstract: How can we build intelligent systems that will make the world a better place and not only for us but for the next generations too? In this talk, Didem Gurdur Broo exposes provocative dilemmas around data - the questionable “new oil” - and reveals counterintuitive mindset shifts needed to create sustainable and human-centered cyber-physical systems. She begins by providing background on industry 4.0 and cyber-physical systems – by highlighting their intelligent and connected nature. Didem then poses the idea that data does not necessarily need to be the new oil, as it comes with dilemmas around collection, sharing, trusting, volume, and decision-making. To build better intelligent systems, she advocates shifting mindsets in three key ways: from siloed to systemic, from profit-oriented to user-centric, and from short-sighted to long-term. Didem outlines a framework that was created at Stanford University during her Marie Curie Fellowship which blends systems thinking, design thinking and futures thinking. Overall, she argues for a thoughtful, ethical, long-view approach to designing next-generation cyber-physical systems that not only keeps the human at the center but also addresses the urgent sustainability needs. Didem provides perspective on avoiding pitfalls like those that have emerged from past industrial revolutions, so we can design intelligent systems for good.
Bio: Didem is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University. She is the director of the Cyber-physical Systems Lab which focuses on designing sustainable and human-centric intelligent systems such as collaborative robots, autonomous vehicles, and smart cities. She is also a member of Social Robotics Lab. She is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow and prior to her current position, she was a at Stanford University and University of Cambridge.
Escaping the research silos: Broad interdisciplinarity as an approach towards inclusive and fair digital futures
Abstract: In the face of rapidly evolving technological landscapes, the need for interdisciplinary collaboration has never been more pressing. Viewing technologies as sociotechnical systems rather than isolated entities, is crucial for gaining alternative framings and for shaping alternative futures. This necessitates a concerted effort to bridge the gap between computer science and social sciences. However, the path to effective collaboration is riddled with complexities, which means that understanding the importance of collaboration and a mere willingness to collaborate are not enough. Understanding and integrating the perspective of ‘professional cultures’ is one potential key to the success of interdisciplinary endeavors. In this keynote, Johanna presents a layered analysis of interdisciplinary collaboration, shedding light on its potential and practical implementation. Drawing from her research, she showcases how these perspectives can converge to address real-world challenges, offering a glimpse into the future of sociotechnical systems created through interdisciplinary collaboration.
Bio: Dr., Docent Johanna Ylipulli is working as a principal investigator in projects focusing on digital inequality in smart cities, artificial intelligence in public services, and transdisciplinary methods at Aalto University’s department of computer science. The roots of her research lie in humanities and social sciences as she is trained as cultural anthropologist. Since 2010, she has extended her expertise towards design and human-computer interaction (HCI), becoming a disciplinary hybrid and a specialist in design anthropology and humanistic HCI. She has worked within diverse fieldwork settings and focused especially on urban contexts. Overall, she is interested in investigating how critically oriented anthropological thinking – with its capability to challenge normative structures and self-evident “truths” – can be successfully combined with design research and technology development.