Design Symposium

Intelligence Beyond Human

 

 

Thursday, 30 October 2025

When? 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Where? Inatura, FHV Aula (A0 01)

Sujet für das Design Symposium "Intelligence Beyond Human". Darauf sind verschiedene Pilze zu sehen in einer kreativen Art. | © FHV

What can you expect?

 

The design symposium “Intelligence Beyond Human” explores forms of intelligence that extend beyond the human – from neural networks and swarm behaviour to plant cognition.
At its core, the symposium addresses social, ethical, and design-related questions surrounding artificial intelligence. How is AI changing the way we think, decide, and design?

Through keynotes, workshops, and exhibitions, the symposium opens up an interdisciplinary space between technology, nature, and design – asking how we might act and create intelligently in the future.

Programme

Venue: inatura - Erlebnis Naturschau Dornbirn (Jahngasse 9)

 

11:00 - 11:20 AM

Check-in

11:20 - 11:40 AM

Welcome
Margarita Köhl, Programme Director InterMedia, BA and Design and Creative Leadership MA, FHV

12:00 - 02:00 PM

Workshop: Plant Intelligence: Plants as Teachers (WS)
Christoph Matt


Workshop: Remixing Your Own, Better Images of Artificial Intelligence (WS)
Nadia Piet, Founder & Creative Director von AIxDESIGN, independent researcher, designer, and organizer

12:00 - 02:30 PM

Intelligent Threads: Exploring E-Textiles (WS)
with input from the Technology Centre for E-Textiles & Acoustics (DITF)
Desiree Gabriel, Franzsika Goll

02:00 - 02:45 PM

KI-Conversations (D)
Florian Bühler, Lecturer, FHV & Johanna Bruckner, Lecturer, FHV
José Durán González, Julian Hämmerle, Leonie Kirsamer, Stefanie Kirsamer, Lena Kächele

02:50 - 03:20 PM

The Dance of the Bees: How Bees Communicate and Collaborate Through Choreography (T, X)
Beekeeper Martin Alfare
Diana Marte, Hjördis Grabherr, Simon Fussenegger, Nadja Gabriel

03:25 - 03:55 PM

Exhibition Tour
Students of FHV

04:00 PM

Division of Labour ? The Collective Intelligence of Ants (X)
Fawad Qadire, Edeltraud Pfeiffer, Marie Hess, Dominic Kühne

Venue: FHV (CAMPUS V, Hochschulstraße 1)

04:45 - 05:20 PM

Check-in & Welcome Drink at FHV

04:45 - 10:00 PM

Sphagnum Dances and Xenokomposition - Exploring distributed authorship and collaboration with AI (X)
David Altweger (Creative Technologist, FHV), Marharita Köhl (FHV) and Tofukoma (AT)

05:15 - 05:35 PM

From Intelligence to Intelligences: AI through the Lens of More-Than-Human Perspectives (T)
Margarita Köhl, Programme Director InterMedia, BA and Design and Creative Leadership MA, FHV

05:40 - 06:00 PM

Recap Workshop & Answering the Key Questions

06:00 - 06:30 PM

Can Machines Think? Understanding Human and Artificial Intelligence (T)
Steffen Finck, Head of Circular Lab; Researcher in AI and Data Science, FHV

06:30 - 07:10 PM

Planta Sapiens: How Do Plants Think? (T)
Paco Calvo, Professor of Philosophy of Science; Director, Minimal Intelligence Lab (MINT Lab), University of Murcia

07:15 - 07:45 PM

Networking over Drinks & Snacks

07:45 - 08:15 PM

Decentering Design - Practice in a More-than-human World (T)
Giliam Antonie Ganzevles, Designer, Researcher, Author (Brussels, Belgium)

08:15 - 08:45 PM

A Tour of AIxDESIGN's Critical and Creative AI Practices (T)
Nadia Piet, Founder & Creative Director von AIxDESIGN, independent researcher, designer, and organizer

08:45 - 09:00 PM

Break

09:00 - 09:30 PM

Panel Discussion
Margarita Köhl, Nadia Piet, Giliam Antonie Ganzevles, Steffen Finck, Paco Calvo

 from 09:30 PM

Get-together

Legend

WS = Workshop | T = Talk | D = Discussion | X = Experience

Event language

German & English

 

Audience

All interested parties are cordially invited to participate.

 

Participation

Be part of the Design Symposium – Intelligence Beyond Human and get your ticket ▷ here!

Speaker

Portrait Nadia Piet | © Piet

Nadia Piet, Founder & Creative Director von AIxDESIGN, independent researcher, designer, and organizer

Keynote: A Tour of AIxDESIGN's Critical and Creative AI Practices
Nadia Piet shares insights from AIxDESIGN’s portfolio, including Slow AI, Feminist UX, DIY AI, and more. Her talk showcases how critical design and participatory practices can challenge mainstream AI narratives and open new possibilities for engaging with technology.

Profile: Nadia Piet is the founder of AIxDESIGN, a global community reimagining artificial intelligence through critical and creative practices. She is also a faculty member in the Master’s program Design for Responsible AI at ELISAVA, Barcelona, where she develops new approaches to AI literacy and ethics in design. Her work combines research, teaching, and community projects, opening up space for more inclusive and imaginative technological futures.

Portrait Paco Calvo | © MintLab

Paco Calvo, Professor of Philosophy of Science; Director, Minimal Intelligence Lab (MINT Lab), University of Murcia

Keynote: Planta Sapiens: How Do Plants Think?
What does it mean to call something intelligent, and who gets to decide? In his talk, Paco Calvo challenges our traditional boundaries of intelligence by asking whether meaningful interaction truly ends with nervous systems. Drawing on research in plant cognition, he explores how plants sense, learn, and adapt in ways that resemble agency and decision-making. The talk invites the audience to question deeply ingrained assumptions: Is intelligence tied exclusively to brains and neurons, or is it a broader phenomenon that takes different forms across life? By placing these questions at the heart of his argument, Calvo urges us to rethink intelligence itself—its definitions, its limits, and how expanding them might reshape our ethical relationship with the living world. This perspective is highly relevant for discussions on AI and design, as reimagining intelligence beyond human or animal models can inspire novel approaches to how we build, interact with, and evaluate artificial systems.

Profile: Paco Calvo is internationally recognized for his pioneering research on plant intelligence. At the University of Murcia, he directs the Minimal Intelligence Lab (MINT Lab), where he investigates how plants learn, remember, and make decisions—abilities once thought to belong only to animals. His book Planta Sapiens sparked global debate, challenging how we define cognition and consciousness. Calvo’s work invites us to rethink human–nature relations and expand our view of what intelligence can be.

Portrait Giliam Antonie Ganzevles | © Giliam Ganzevles

Giliam Antonie Ganzevles, Designer, Researcher, Author (Brussles, Belgium)

Keynote: Decentering Design - Practice in a More-than-human World
How can we design not just for the world, but with it? Ganzevles introduces more-than-human thinking and presents strategies to shift from human-centered to multispecies design—illustrated with inspiring cases from art and design.

Profile: Giliam Antonie Ganzevles explores how design can move beyond human-centered approaches. As co-author of Decentering Design – Practice in a More-than-Human World, he brings together voices from design, art, science, and policy. His work highlights methods that acknowledge the agency of nonhuman actors and situates design within broader ecological and technological systems. Ganzevles positions design as a practice of responsibility and attunement, opening pathways to more sustainable futures.

Portrait Steffen Finck | © Stark | FHV

Steffen Finck, Head of Circular Lab; Researcher in AI and Data Science, FHV

Keynote: Can Machines Think? Understanding Human and Artificial Intelligence
What does it mean to be intelligent, and can machines claim this trait for themselves? This talk  explores the basics of intelligence, the difference between intelligence and autonomy, and whether AI systems can truly “think.” It also examines the connection to creativity, asking where smart pattern recognition ends, where creativity begins, and how much human input AI requires..

Profile: Steffen Finck leads the Circular Lab at the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences, where he connects artificial intelligence, data science, and sustainable design. His research focuses on models that support ecological and social transformation, rooted in circular economy principles. By linking machine learning with design practice, he tackles real-world challenges from resource efficiency to resilience. At the Circular Lab, he brings together designers, engineers, and scientists to explore how AI can responsibly contribute to sustainable futures.