Design Intelligences

A more-than-human collective for regenerative futures

Design Intelligences

A more-than-human collective for regenerative futures

Design Intelligences is a collective of humans and non-humans dedicated to bringing together diverse forms of life and intelligence to address the complex environmental and social challenges of our global society. The group's mission is a commitment to more-than-human design research and practice, integrating ways of knowing and creating the world that range from the human to the natural to the artificial.

Promoting a pluralistic understanding of intelligence, the group aims to explore the unique sensitivities, capacities and temporalities of different human groups, from non-Western to indigenous cultures, and non-humans, such as microbes, plant organisms or artificial intelligence. The goal of Design Intelligences is to reveal synergistic relationships between these diverse intelligences in order to influence future design practices.

Through an integrated approach between theory, methodology and practice (research-through-design), the group promotes an interdependent, pluriversal and regenerative approach to design to address the fundamental needs of all planetary beings, considering their complex interdependencies within technologically mediated worlds.

Although this interdependence between humans and non-humans, from living organisms to machines, is not new in fields such as philosophy, the humanities or biology, it is new to design.

Design Intelligences promotes dialogue between different cultures, species and academic disciplines, each offering a unique lens to explore the complexities of contemporary life. By integrating contributions from different cultures, species and fields of study - from ecology to anthropology, from computer science to philosophy - the group's research aims to enrich the collective intelligence of the planet and strengthen the capacity to address contemporary challenges by promoting design practices that sustain and nurture life rather than compromise it.

The group also aims to train a new generation of designers capable not only of building collaborations between humans and non-humans, but also of recognising and nurturing political and multiscale relationships between global agents over time, paving the way for design intelligences as the key to collective survival.