Morten Rand-Hendriksen

“always treat humanity (...) never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end” If we’ve learned one thing from the internet revolution, it is how badly we failed at this principle set forth by Immanuel Kant in 1797. We’ve spent the past three decades treating our users as means to corporate ends. The results: Surveillance Capitalism, algorithmic addiction, disinformation warfare, and cat memes. Now, at the dawn of our future with AI, it's time to take stock of what we value and have reason to value in our designs, in our technology, and in our society.

As designers, developers, and technologists we are uniquely positioned to not only build, but shape the future for our users and ourselves. Let’s embrace that power and use it for good! In this talk technology educator and recovering philosopher Morten Rand-Hendriksen takes us on a journey from past mistakes to future possibilities. His radical proposal: Make the capabilities granted people through our designs and how they can use them to bring value to their own lives the meter with which we measure success. Design has the power to change the world. Using a Capability-Centered Design approach helps us build futures where we can all thrive by doing and being what each of us has reason to value.