Humanizing Our Digital Futures
Spring 2027
i/o Course
What is our current digital trajectory, and is it a future we want?
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How do digital technologies shape the ways we communicate, build relationships, work, learn, and participate in society?
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How do the choices we make when designing and using technology reflect our values, assumptions, and priorities?
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Is privacy still a meaningful concept in a data-driven world, and who should have the authority to define its limits?
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How can individuals, communiites, and instiutions help create more humane digital futures?
How do algorithms and artificial intelligence shape what it means to be human—and how can we design digital futures that center ethics, equity, and empathy?
Are today’s technologies creating the future we actually want? If technology is shaped by human choices, how might we choose differently? In this Humanities Lab, students will investigate how people design, use, adapt, and govern digital technologies, and how those technologies, in turn, shape our relationships, communities, institutions, and the futures we imagine. Students will examine questions of power, values, ethics, and innovation while developing collaborative lines of inquiry into emerging digital challenges. Their work will culminate in public-facing projects that inspire conversation, informed decision-making, and more humane digital futures.
Collaborations
- Collaborators TBA
Impact Outcomes
Students will share their findings with the general public in a format of their choosing. Check this page at the end of the semester for updates!
Human and Digital Futures in the News
At the Humanities Lab, we strive to ensure our Labs are relevant and current. Here are some recent articles about humans and digital futures in recent news.
The Silent Revolution: How Tech is Changing What it Means to be Human
Will Tech Change What it Means to be Human? And Does it Matter?