Commotion consults with creative teams to help them better imagine, prototype, and realize more dynamic and creative interactions, products, ecosystems, and experiences with AI. We focus on Animistic Design, giving personality to AI by developing backstories, characters, and POVs.

Commotion envisions a new future of Animistic Intelligence, creating rich ecologies full of diverse smart POVs - A different approach to AI that's more poetic, humble, and ethical

Commotion advocates using AI to create multiple perspectives for evocative and open outcomes

Commotion consulting offers innovative approaches that enhance your capacity to develop new directions with technology

What We Do
What We Do

Commotion offers innovative approaches that enhance your capacity to develop new directions with technology.

Emerging technologies like AI have unexpected affordances, limits, ethical implications, and outcomes: to keep pace with them, you need provocative new visions, tools and methods

Too often, AI is applied in a purely solutions oriented manner, missing out on its creative potential. But as technologies evolve, design must also evolve: experimenting, critically evaluating, and challenging conventions. Led by exploration and inquiry, and informed by our 30 years pushing the boundaries of interaction  into new territories, Commotion can help you unlock the hidden value of your data and expertise through AI in ways that others can’t. 

Services

Commotion helps organizations embrace:

CRITICAL PROTOTYPING

Tools like our Delft AI Toolkit enable your designers to think through making by sketching prototypes, critically reflecting, and producing new product visions

STRATEGY AND ETHICS

We'll help you define an ethical strategy for AI that aligns with your brand, values, and mission

FORESIGHT & INSIGHT

Adapt your plans to emerging technology and media futures

TRAINING & WORKSHOPS

Equip your creatives, staff, and management with the right expertise to take advantage of AI.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Develop creative,  valuable, unexpected ways of applying new technologies

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Still thinking about @philvanallen's new, great #AI-for-#UX-designers toolkit: http://philvanallen.com/portfolio/delft-ai-toolkit/… (think: Lego Mindstorms for AI w/wizard of Oz puppeting as a key component of the workflow)

As designers move from the #design of individual things to complex ecologies of smart things, some older conceptions that influenced the development of #AI may have renewed relevance https://hubs.ly/H0fYHwl0 @mikekuniavsky, @xeeliz and @philvanallen detail in @interactionsMag

Interactions Magazine

“One of the things we have to think about designing for AI is people’s perceptions of AI (i.e. Smart. Social Inuitive. Alive.) In fact, AI is quite dumb. It’s the exact opposite of what people think it is (i.e. One POV. Not alive. Awkward. Very limited.).” @philvanallen #dwpdx

Artificial Intelligence: “It has to be a designed artifact not just a tech artifact.” @philvanallen Thank you @JLRIncubator for the discussion as part of @DesignWeekPDX.

Animistic Intelligence





Philip van Allen has over 30 years experience with technology innovation and research

Delft AI Toolkit Robot

CONTACT

To arrange a consultation or workshop, send us a message.