The human brain is an association machine. As we acquire new knowledge and skills we are iteratively improving complex, unconscious mental models that shape how and what we think of ourselves and the world around us. Current commercial GenAIs don’t do that.That difference is responsible for most of the “hallucinations,” “mistakes,” “misdirections,” and nonsense that these chatbots sometimes generate. We’ll take a look at how using this new technology is different from anything else humans have ever experienced, and the interesting psychological phenomena that prevent most of us from recognizing what is really going on. 

As artificial intelligence reshapes disciplines across the board, urbanism is undergoing its own transformation. In this talk, Damiano Cerrone will explore how AI is changing the way we design, govern, and inhabit cities. Drawing from real-world applications and his own fieldwork across Europe, he will examine how AI is being used not just to optimize urban systems but to reimagine the very processes behind spatial planning, community engagement, and territorial intelligence.

The talk will reflect on how people react when AI moves from theory to street-level practice, what excites, what resists, and what emerges. Along the way, we’ll touch on the rise of new governance models, the role of urban data storytelling, and the promise of "cognitive sanctuaries" in a world of algorithmic acceleration. Students will leave with a grounded understanding of how AI is being embedded into the fabric of our cities, and how human agency, creativity, and ethics remain central in shaping its future.

AI has arrived, not as a distant promise, but as an active participant in our tools, our workflows, and our conversations. Yet despite its presence, many individuals and organizations still find themselves asking: Now what?

This talk explores the messy, exciting, and very human journey of AI adoption. From grassroots experimentation to top-down mandates, from resistance to curiosity, we'll look at how different people and systems are integrating AI, or struggling to. Through multiple lenses, individual, organizational, and academic, we’ll unpack what “adoption” really means, why it matters, and how to make it meaningful.

We’ll explore the motivations behind AI adoption (speed, scale, creativity, survival), the patterns emerging across company sizes and sectors, and the challenges of measuring success. Along the way, we’ll ask provocative questions: Are we changing how we work or just using new tools in old ways? Is this the next Wikipedia or something entirely new?

This is not a prescriptive talk. It’s an invitation: to play, to explore, and to shape your own AI adoption story, because the real opportunity isn’t just in what AI can do, but in what we choose to do with it.

As Artificial Intelligence continues to reshape the landscape of work, creativity, and human interaction, we are caught between two dominant narratives: augmentation, where AI enhances human capability, and transformation, where AI fundamentally changes it. In this talk, Menno Cramer explores the psychological and systemic shifts that accompany this transition and questions how humans, particularly designers, adapt, or fail to adapt, within this evolving terrain.

Why do designers, trained to challenge assumptions, often adopt new technologies without critical examination? What do emerging frameworks like HITL (Human-in-the-Loop), On the loop, and other evolutions reveal about agency, control, and the future of decision-making? And how can we assess the real impact of AI on business and society when the scientific understanding is still unfolding (or lacking)?

Cramer argues that the gap between academia and business is growing. While academic institutions move cautiously, businesses drive change at speed. This talk invites reflection on how academia can better prepare students for the realities of technological disruption, and how businesses can contribute to shaping a more psychologically informed and ethically grounded future. It is not just about designing with AI, it is about understanding who we are becoming through it.