In this Office Hours Side Projects session, we were presented with three Side Projects: Root Workers, focusing on environmental conservation through community engagement; ElderPunkt, a publication concept aimed at enhancing elder agency; and Communal Heirlooms, a project exploring ways by which community assets can be preserved. Each was presented for 10 minutes, followed by 20+ minutes of discussions and reflection as to the project's unique challenges and opportunities. An overall theme of these Side Projects was considerations as to the importance of emotional connections, community needs, and intergenerational perspectives. Sign up to my newsletter to get reminders for weekly Office Hours! And don't forget to support the work on Patreon! It helps keep the lights on and the ideas flowing.

In the Office Hours Side Projects Edition N°268, participants Mateusz, Gustav, and Stan shared their innovative projects. Mateusz introduced a workshop-based concept to challenge designers' assumptions using AI-generated bureaucratic forms. Gustav presented an intricately crafted world and narrative, merging technology and nature, inspired by his passion for world-building. Stan discussed the potential for a mental health first aid app to bridge communication gaps between neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals, drawing from his work experience with power generation safety protocols. The session highlighted creative problem-solving and interdisciplinary collaboration. Links that were shared during the session are included at the bottom of the post.

A repost of John Seely Brown and Mark Weiser's seminal paper on calm technology, exploring the design principles that enable technology to enhance human experience without overwhelming it. This paper discusses the importance of peripheral awareness, the balance between center and periphery in design, and the role of calm technology in creating a more habitable future. Calm technology is about designing technology that is unobtrusive, enhances human experience, and allows for peripheral awareness without overwhelming the user. It emphasizes the importance of context and the balance between center and periphery in design.

TL;DR is that I'm wondering about sublimated AI interfaces. Is this a helpful idiom when thinking about possible near futures of human-computer interaction? Interfaces modalities and interaction rituals that are subtle, ambient, collaborative rather than direct commands. This approach aspires to be that which preserves human agency and enhances creative flow, making AI a seamless extension of the user’s creative process. Just want to try the functional study of this? Try Vibewriter. (I fixed the ‘email signup’ flow, fwiw.) This draws a bit of Mark Weiser's foray into Calm Computing and his collaborations with John Seely Brown, reflections on the kinds of antagonisms that have cropped up around the end of everything-that-is-human-as-ai-takes over, along with my own interests in the alt and thinking about this new terrain with AI as a place where our old ways of sense-making and ontologies might be rethought, reimagined, and reconfigured.

How we lost — and rediscovered — the craft of writing. A fictional conceit from an AI future. Imagining a possible future or even an adjacent present in which writing is a lost art, and a new generation rediscovers it through mechanical contrivances and the exercise of their paralimbicis gyrus. A piece of short speculative fiction that emanates from pondering a story that would be told to explain the meaning, purpose and context of these various AI Design Fiction projects in the realm of writing and composition that I've been working on.

How does one describe those things that will become obvious in hindsight, but do not make sense in the present? The value of imagining alternatives to the present is that it helps us see the value in things that are so obvious that we don't see them. I've beenn thinking about this notion, and I wish there was a word for it. It's the ‘wheels on luggage’ effect — the ‘what took them so long..’ wondering. Jogging wasn't a thing until, by force of commitment and fortitude, Bill Bowerman writes a book explaining it to a widespread audience. The Fosbury Flop was a dramatic rethinking of the high jump that was so obvious in hindsight, but not at the time. Perhaps it was even scandalous, or I like to imagine it was. ‘Dude..don't do it!’ I often bring this logic to the studies, experiments, and futures wonderings that I do here at Near Future Laboratory. Trying to find a kernel...

Side projects shared by Anushka, Julian, and Karis in the Office Hours Side Projects Edition N°267. Anushka explores sketchnoting, Julian introduces Vibewriter for creative writing, and Karis presents a futuristic narrative set in Gabon. Sketchnoting revolutionizes note-taking by transforming complex concepts into intuitive visuals, enhancing futures thinking and systems design. Vibewriter stimulates rapid, improvisational writing, making the process feel like a game. Karis's narrative blends African culture with futuristic tech as she prepares to pitch for a film project.

A short response to the New Yorker article "Can A.I. Writing Be More Than a Gimmick?" by Anna Wiener, which explores the implications of A.I. in writing and creativity. Reflecting on the question of A.I. and writing, I wanted to create a software artifact(s) that experimented with the idea of A.I. as a muse rather than a tool that would do the writing for me. I think A.I. can be a useful partner in the creative process, not taking over the writing, but acting like a mellow muse. The alternative to thinkig of writing as drudgery in the case of creative expression is to think of it more like a coach or perhaps a lowkey collaborative partner. One of these software experiments/prototypes is the Vibewriter project, which is a speculative design fiction that serves as an exercise tool for writers to bulk up their brain muscles for creative writing and explore how a generative A.I. muse can be a...

Over 10 years ago I did what everyone said I shouldn't. I created a hardware startup. “Dude. Don't do it. Hardware is hard!” But, I did it. Maybe it's because I went to Montessori School and was instilled with a different set of decision making muscles. It was hard, no doubt. They were not wrong about that. But I got it done. Built a product — something beautiful and functional that people actually wanted. It was a journey filled with challenges, learning, and growth. I joked that CEO stood for “Chief Everything Officer” because I did everything. I was the product designer, the industrial designer, the software designer, the interaction designer, the UX designer, the filmer, the brand guy, the service & support guy, the marketing guy, the advertising guy, shipping & receiving dept., the UI designer, the design researcher, the design strategist, and the design thinker. And to bookend this experience, I finally printed this book — two volumes!...