Embassy of Digital Futures at DDW24
Creative lead Pallas Agterberg on the complexity and opportunities of the digital future
During Dutch Design Week 2024 (DDW24), the Embassy of Digital Futures will present its vision for the digital future. Creative lead Pallas Agterberg discusses the three pathways the Embassy will explore, as well as the complexity and challenges that digitalisation brings. “It’s a journey that also gives energy,” she says. “There’s something magical in the moment when you gain control over the situation and start to see beautiful solutions emerge.”
Talking about ‘digital futures’ quickly touches on big themes such as the impact of social media, fake news, loneliness among young people, and the undermining of democracy. “If you’re not careful, you can easily get lost in a rabbit hole because of the enormity of these issues,” says Pallas. “But when you look at the past, you see that many of these kinds of problems – albeit in a different form – have been addressed and solved. You need to have faith in humanity that we will find solutions for our digital future as well.”
Making Big Themes Manageable
According to Pallas, who became creative lead of the new Embassy earlier this year, it’s essential to make these large themes manageable. Pallas’ background in social sciences, information technology, and the arts gives her a strong position to approach the broad topic of digitalisation. “These subjects aren’t new to me, and many people in my network have expertise in this field. It feels natural to take on this role,” Pallas explains.
Escape the Algorithm
During DDW24, the Embassy will explore three different pathways. The first pathway, Escape the Algorithm, focuses on how we deal with digital structures like algorithms. “It’s interesting to explore how we can escape algorithms that attempt to influence our behaviour. On one hand, we’re dealing with an ‘escape route,’ but on the other hand, the question is how we can harness digital ‘superpowers’ to discover new possibilities.”
“Thanks to new technology, everyone potentially has access to a superpower that allows you to achieve fantastic things."— Pallas Agterberg
Superpowers
The second pathway focuses on the digital technologies that can provide us with superpowers. “Thanks to new technology, everyone potentially has access to a superpower that allows you to achieve fantastic things. But with every superpower comes responsibility,” says Pallas. “It’s about finding a balance between the positive and negative sides of these digital capabilities.” The exhibition invites visitors to experiment and discover their own digital superpower.
Partnership Programme
The third pathway at DDW24 is the partnership programme, where the Embassy collaborates with societal partners such as knowledge institutions and governments. “For example, we’re working with the City of Amsterdam, the Province of North Brabant, and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. They’ve established a research group under the name Society 5.0 that focuses on similar questions. By working together, we hope to gain new insights and solutions to digital challenges.”
Exhibition Highlights
The exhibition by the Embassy of Digital Futures includes several installations that make the digital future tangible. One of these is Playing the Algorithm by Mayra Kapteijn from Het Verbond and Leonore Snoek from the Municipality of Amsterdam, which shows how we can free ourselves from the grip of algorithms. “The act of playing itself is part of the question,” Pallas explains. “Learning to navigate new digital forms through experimentation is key.”
Additionally, there is the photo exhibition ATTACHED: Digital Youth (By Het Verbond and the municipality of Amsterdam), which explores how young people relate to their phones and the internet. This is depicted through a ‘space base,’ an object where visitors can immerse themselves in the digital world. “For young people, the virtual outside world is just as important as the physical outdoor space.”
The installation Oblivion by Julia Janssen raises questions about the changing outside world and the right to be forgotten. “Playing outside is only possible when you know that no police officer or commercial entity is watching you. But does that still exist in the digital world?” Pallas wonders. Cloud City by Bas Sala also addresses this issue during the exhibition. “This installation reveals how the physical city is gradually becoming as digital as the virtual one. This raises the question: are we now copying the lack of freedom from the virtual world into the physical city?”
Conference
During the Embassy’s conference, Koert van Mensvoort will deliver a keynote on the interaction between humans and technology throughout the centuries. “The goal of the conference is to explore the playing field together and define the next step,” says Pallas.
“There’s something magical about the moment when you start to see a solution. That’s exactly the energy we want to pass on to visitors.”— Pallas Agterberg
Creative Power
According to Agterberg, creative power is an essential force in the search for a digital future. “Making issues visible and experimenting with new solutions are at the heart of our approach. Our traditional methods don’t work in the digital future. We need to develop new forms of creative power to deal with this uncertain future.” This creative power also brings energy, Pallas emphasises. “There’s something magical about the moment when you start to see a solution. That’s exactly the energy we want to pass on to visitors.”