How do you creatively explore the challenges and opportunities of developing new technologies responsibly? This past summer, the University of Michigan Risk Science Center partnered with the V2_ Institute for Unstable Media in Rotterdam to just this. And the result? A book of seventeen haiku!
Exploring Responsible Innovation
The book was the result of thirteen academics from the University of Michigan getting together with folks from V2_ over two days to grapple with responsibility and innovation. We intentionally selected participants who had little formal training in the emerging field of Responsible Innovation, but who were engaged in innovation. Their expertise ranged from health and engineering through to business, architecture. and art and design.
As someone who does work in the area of responsible innovation, I was blown away by the insights that emerged from this group. Unconstrained by existing ideas and definitions, the participants were able to peel apart the deep complexities in defining what responsible innovation is – even what innovation itself is.
Communicating Insights Through Haiku
The idea to capture these insights in a series of haiku was an inspired one – not mine I hasten to add. During our discussions, it became clear that there are uncertainties, nuances and intangibles around the whole idea of responsible technological innovation that could never be captured in a formal academic report or white paper. Instead, we needed a way of conveying our thoughts to others that would in turn inspire further creative thought on what it means to innovate responsibly.
The breakthrough came when a participant pointed out that the then-President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, is an aficionado of haiku. As well as providing an – if you’ll forgive me – innovative medium for conveying the workshop outcomes to others, this form proved extremely powerful in capturing elusive ideas in a way that would spark further creative thought in others.
Seventeen Haiku
The resulting book combines seventeen haiku (written by participants, and themselves arranged in haiku-form) with questions and abstract photos – all designed to stimulate new thinking on responsible innovation.
Beneath the elegant simplicity, it’s a form that doesn’t make recommendations or dictate actions, but rather opens up the mind of the reader to explore and better understand what responsibility in technological innovation means to them.
But rather than taking my word for it, why not check out the book – which is in the public domain. Feel free to browse the flip book (follow the link), download it as an e-book from V2_, or download the PDF.
And if you would like a hard copy, you can do that as well by visiting blurb.com.
