Playing with Futures in Seoul

The course is part of the play design education and aims to expand the student’s critical horizons of technology in society. The focus of this year’s course is to utilize play to design for Artificial Intelligence (AI).

- Our aim of going to Seoul and co-teach the play design students from Design School Kolding and design students at Yonsei University center around three main areas; developing a ‘critique’ of contemporary technology through speculative design; nurturing play as a methodological approach to ‘creativity’, thus opening new possibilities of creative expressions and experiences; building 'community' across cultures, where new ideas are shared and developed across our different cultures and universities, says Sofie Kinch, who is the course responsible.

The course will embrace various formats, enabling students to explore and create innovative ways to understand the field of speculative design. Through design experiments, collaborative workshops, literature surveys, field trips etc., Design School Kolding students will work on self-defined projects that reflect the potential of Play in the framing of Performance Cultures & AI. 

The Playful Speculative Design Revolution
During their time in Seoul, students will develop their ability to hypothesize future scenarios, often referred to as “future literacy” which UNESCO recognize as an essential skill for both responsible education and policy-making. 

- The introduction of ChatGPT by OpenAI has sparked growing interest and apprehension among society regarding the potential impact of AI. What seemed like science fiction six months ago has now become a reality in our daily lives. It is therefore becoming increasingly clear that AI has the potential to bring about fundamental changes in how we work and what we should be learning in school. Our designers will use this course to raise ethical dilemmas and concerns through design processes and prototypes, says Sofie Kinch, who has created what she calls a ‘speculative play design manifesto’ for the course:

As students of play design, we vehemently reject the limitations imposed by conventional thinking and instead, we wholeheartedly embrace the potential of speculative play design to lead us towards a more innovative and exciting future.

Drawing inspiration from our Seoul Outpost, we vow to challenge the norms and break free from the constraints of known frameworks by constantly exploring new possibilities.

Through the playful lens of design, we seek to tackle complex issues and unravel the challenges of our time by inventing alternative futures that are not bound by the rules and truths of today.

We adamantly refuse to view design as a mere aesthetic pursuit and instead, we recognize its transformative power as a driving force for change.

As we craft our speculative artefacts, we are committed to leveraging our skills to inspire real-world change within the context of AI and Performance Cultures.

We implore our fellow designers to join us in this playful revolution of speculative design. Let us harness the power of play and imagination to create a brighter future for all.

A Playful Speculation – alternative approaches for shaping futures
During their stay, Design School Kolding and Yonsei University will co-host a symposium to explore the potential of ‘play’ as a speculative design method. 

The symposium will bring together experts from various fields to take a playful approach to discussing the future, exploring the realm of possibility, the role of social imagination, and the impact of uncertainties such as climate change, political confrontation, and technological development.

- Utilizing play and playfulness from a future-oriented and cross-cultural perspective allows us to address complex societal issues through design. Our objective of the academic collaboration is to uncover new insights and perspectives that can help us navigate and educate future designers on the complexities of our rapidly-evolving world, explains Sofie Kinch.

The symposium takes place on Thursday, 4 May from 10 am to 5 pm at Yonsei University in the Samsung Building. For more information and tickets, go to eventbrite.

About Design for Play
Design School Kolding's Design for Play MA programme is for students who like to explore new paths and challenge themselves and others through playful experiences. The programme was established with the LEGO Foundation and the LEGO Group and is the world’s first, exclusive two-year international Master’s Degree programme within Design for Play.