Professor Dr. Yvonne Rogers
Bio: Yvonne Rogers is a Professor of Interaction Design and the director of UCLIC at University College London. Her research is concerned with designing interactive technologies that can empower humans, especially human-centred AI, and how to develop AI tools to think with. Central to her work is a critical stance towards how visions, theories and frameworks shape the fields of HCI, cognitive science and ubiquitous computing. She been instrumental in promulgating new theories (e.g., external cognition), alternative methodologies (e.g., in the wild studies) and far-reaching research agendas (e.g., “Being Human” manifesto) and has pioneered an approach to innovation and ubiquitous learning. She has received various awards including being elected as an international member of the American National Academy of Engineering, the ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Research Award, a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Society Robin Milner Medal for computer science. She was also awarded a Chair of Excellence from the University of Bremen. She is one of the authors of the definitive textbook on Interaction Design and HCI now in its 6th edition, that has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide and has been translated into many languages.
Professor Dr. Mattia Thibault
Bio: Dr Mattia Thibault is a Professor in Translation in the Creative Industries at Tampere University and has a PhD in Semiotics and Media (Turin University). His research interests include semiotics and translation, extended realities, speculative research, and playfulness in the built environment (real and digital). He is the leader of the InterReality Research Group which focuses on the relations between different virtual (including both “digital” and “possible”) spaces and their connections with the “real” world. He is PI of the projects InterReal (ERC-StG), NEXR (Business Finland Co-Research) and Mobility Mindshift (funded by Net Zero Cities, EU).
Senior Designer Dr. Pontus Wärnestål
Bio: Pontus Wärnestål is an award-winning designer, HCI researcher, author, and educator with 25 years of experience at the intersection of human-centered design, emerging technologies, digital culture, and AI. With a PhD in Computational Linguistics and a background spanning academia, startups, and global design agencies, Pontus has led initiatives across UX, service design, and AI innovation. He is the author of the book “Designing AI-Powered Services” (2021), has published several research papers, including a Best of CHI research paper in 2014. He frequently speaks on how design can shape meaningful, responsible AI systems. Currently Senior Designer and Head of Pedagogy at Ambition Group and Deputy Professor at Halmstad University, Pontus is passionate about exploring better futures.