The Future of More-Than-Human Design : A Computing Practice in Crisis?

Barendregt, Wolmet and Bekker, Tilde and Berger, Arne and Dalsgaard, Peter and Eriksson, Eva and Frauenberger, Christopher and Friedman, Batya and Giaccardi, Elisa and Hansen, Anne-Marie and Jensen, Rikke Hagensby and Light, Ann and Lindley, Joseph and Nicenboim, Iohanna and Nilsson, Elisabet M. and Redström, Johan and Sontopski, Natalie and Wakkary, Ron and Wiberg, Mikael and Yoo, Daisy (2025) The Future of More-Than-Human Design : A Computing Practice in Crisis? In: AAR 2025: Adjunct Proceedings of the Sixth Decennial Aarhus Conference: Computing X Crisi :. Adjunct Proceedings of the Sixth Decennial Aarhus Conference: Computing X Crisis . ACM, New York, pp. 1-4. ISBN 9798400719684

Abstract

Given the current ecological crisis, the HCI and design community is showing a growing interest in the adoption of more-than-human perspectives, challenging human-centric approaches. While this has sparked numerous research initiatives, many of them are still a far cry from providing practical solutions or transforming the industry. This also presents a hurdle for teaching more-than-human perspectives to design students, as they may feel powerless to practice those teachings in real-life industrial settings. To bring forth concrete examples of how more-than-human design practice can matter, we believe that it is now time to move beyond theorising about and advocating for the adoption of such perspectives and start a more-than-human design practice that transforms the industry. This workshop therefore aims to bring together educators, researchers, and designers to discuss and co-develop strategies for transitioning more-than-human perspectives from niche/speculation to mainstream/practice in HCI and design. The workshop also aims to develop ways to empower students to work with these perspectives to bring about this transformation of the industry.