After sneaking away from a small-town prairie farm, Shane spent his early career as an entrepreneur in North America and Europe focused on product design, robotics, and connected devices. He would later join Idea Couture, a Design Thinking and innovation consultancy, to combine his technical knowledge with a natural knack for business strategy. Shane is a prolific writer on technology and frequently gives talks on Design Thinking, robotics, AI, IoT, and the future of technology in society. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Robotics at the University of Toronto, holds an MBA in Technology and Innovation from Ryerson University and a B. Eng. from McGill University.
http://www.shanesaunderson.com/
My SmallTalks
- When Everything is Connected (IoT) – This talk presents a series of insights around the Internet of Things developed over years of in-home ethnographies, expert interviews, and connected product development. We focus on the implications of connecting objects in your home, workplace, and public to look at how people will react to IoT.
- Philosophy of the Artificial Mind – This talk explores the intersection of AI and philosophy of the mind to attempt to answer the question, “are we playing god with AI?” A historical review of the major arguments of Turing, Searle and others is followed by a provocative set of thought experiments around the future of artificial intelligence.
- Tomorrow’s Workplace & Workforce – Speculating on the future of technology integration into our offices and employees, this talk shares perspectives on how our role as workers is evolving and what risks and implications we need to consider as we tackle with topics like mass job loss, distributed working, and maker culture.
- Robot-Centered Design – Ideal for architects and designers, this talk identifies the importance of considering a key stakeholder – robots – in the future of design activities. As our spaces and items become shared assets, usable by people and machines alike, this talk shows where new considerations must be taken to incorporate our new users.
- Human–Robot Interaction – When you look at a robot, do you see a companion or a slave? Exploring the psychology of interacting with robots, this talk shares the different factors that influence a human’s cognitive framing around a robot to induce different emotions, responses, and outcomes during interactions with the “mechanical mirror.”
- Design Thinking 101 – This talk is a crash course to the fundamental principles and tools of Design Thinking and how they can apply to organizations large and small. A great primer for anyone who wants to gain a glimpse into a new perspective to take on the world, this talk can also be given as a series that will explore a variety of DT tools such as Ethnography, Foresight, Sensemaking, Ideation, Rapid Prototyping and more.
- Innovative Organizational Cultures – From Edison to Google, this talk surveys over 100 years of the most innovative organizations around the world in an attempt to uncover central themes or takeaways behind what makes the most creative organizations run. A hit-list of innovative approaches and activities will be shared and can be tailored to the context or specifics of your organization to help evolve your own culture.
- The Future of Healthcare – In 2040, you may go to a mechanic to tune up your prosthetic leg. By the time you develop cirrhosis, you may be able to bioprint a new liver. These and so many more scenarios will be explored, along with the signals and trends to understand if, how, and when these changes may happen.
- Custom SmallTalks – please contact me if I can develop an interesting educational experience for you and your guests in one of my areas of expertise:
- Future Technologies
- Robotics & AI
- Whole Brain Emulation
- Embodied Cognition
- Nonverbal Communication
- Post-Capitalist Economies
Where I Can Go
I’m available to travel to homes and offices around the GTA. In addition, we can chat about going further – provincially, nationally, or internationally – though scheduling and fee considerations will apply.
Availability
I’m available year-round with sufficient notice; contact to coordinate schedules.
Languages
My SmallTalks can be delivered in English or Fortran 95.
Fees
My SmallTalks are typically around an hour but can range from 30 to 180 minutes, depending on the topic and your needs, and are best followed by a discussion that I am happy to facilitate. I can also provide suggested readings around the topic at your request.
Fee: TBD.