Design for Existential Crisis
summary
Argues that design must stop producing Bovine Design — tools that promote passivity, addictive behavior and rote conformity — because automation, personalization, smart cities and data-driven governance are eroding dignity, decency and meaning. Uses Victor Frankl and Harari to claim survival depends on shared meaning, and recommends concrete moves: design for attention, build lighter, reversible systems ("slender now"), and preserve critical voices rather than assuming a tech “Ark.”
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chapters (16)
- 0:00Introduction
- 0:40The Big Questions
- 1:11Definitions
- 2:47End of World
- 3:21Saving Humanity
- 3:50The danger of science
- 4:31Dignity decency
- 4:42Institutional humiliation
- 5:37Theory of meaning
- 6:19Technology
- 7:04Bovine Design
- 8:07Alternatives
- 8:30Design for Attention
- 9:09Design for Being Different
- 9:50Design to be Critical
- 12:10Conclusion
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