Cognitive Systems: Designing Interactions that Think With Us by Haakon Faste

Abstract

This talk explores emerging ideas about interaction design in the context of distributed technological, cultural and cognitive systems. Human thinking has always been influenced by technology, and technology is beginning to think for itself. Designed well, new systems will be increasingly able to sense and respond to human behavior in nuanced ways, profoundly influencing our actions and values. I will discuss several recent projects involving embodied and distributed cognition, and conclude with reflections on the role of interaction designers as cognitive agents.

Biography

Haakon Faste is Assistant Professor of Interaction Design at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. From 2010-2013 he served on the faculty of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where his research centered on socially responsible innovation, design education, and computer assisted collaborative creativity. Haakon holds a Ph.D. in Perceptual Robotics from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy, and a BA in physics and studio art from Oberlin College. A former leader of IDEO's Software Experiences design practice, he has led design strategy, implementation, technology innovation and IP strategy on creative projects for some of the world's most innovative corporations including Toyota, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Intel and Cisco Systems. He has also been active in technology design in the cultural arena, having led interactive media projects with clients including Rolling Stone, the Whitney Museum of American Art and DavidBowie.com.