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13th International Symposium on Design Sciences and Technologies

DESIGNING INTELLIGENCE
Contexts and Issues

The 01Design symposia aim to bring together the worlds of design and conception by exploring the complex boundaries between the design of physical objects (architecture, aeronautics, industrial design, etc.) and the design of digital or informational objects (Internet of Things, augmented reality, etc.). Previous editions have highlighted not only the intertwining of these objects in their modes of production and use, but also their hybridization and even fusion, to make them increasingly “intelligent.”

Design is both a way of thinking and a creative process, situated between the intelligible and the sensible, and it calls upon human intelligence. It relies on design methodologies originating from artisanal, engineering, artistic, or industrial practices, increasingly inspired by and connected to scientific research (semiotics, computer science, etc.) through creative or innovative approaches, as well as production processes and techniques.

Through this call for papers, we seek to specifically explore the notion of designing intelligence from several interdependent perspectives. The first considers the design of intelligence in the sense of human intellection; the second focuses on intelligence as scientific and methodological; the third addresses modeling and creative techniques—that is, the intelligence of design and of technology. The goal is to question the stakes involved in the entire process, from ideation to creation, and their impacts on ecosystems.

Intelligence, as an object of design, raises questions about how we conceive and structure cognitive processes—whether they are human, physical, artificial, or hybrid. Building on user-centered and, more broadly, human-centered design approaches, we must understand human intellection in practical use cases to meet needs and expectations while also considering the ecosystems in which these processes unfold. This includes creating or simulating reality and designing empowering models and artifacts.

This new edition aims to explore the design of intelligence—that is, the notion of intelligence within design sciences and technologies. What is intelligence today, and what was it yesterday? What might it be tomorrow? How do human intelligence, technologies of intelligence, and intelligent technologies intersect? What design, modeling, implementation, and usage processes are involved? Which ones work—or don’t work—in which contexts? How can we study them?

Arguments, Issues, and Perspectives

To design so-called “intelligent” artifacts, it is essential to consider the different domains in which intelligence expresses itself. To illustrate our topic and clarify the purpose of this symposium on designing intelligence, we draw on Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (2004), a categorization that helps us explore the relationships between human, scientific, methodological, design, and technical intelligences.

Linguistic intelligence refers to the acquisition of language—oral, written, or visual—which enabled human evolution. Long studied by language sciences and psycholinguistics, these forms of intelligence have evolved digitally through computational linguistics, including NLP, chatbots, voice assistants, and speech recognition/synthesis systems. This type of intelligence resonates with recent AI advances based on language models (LLMs), syntactic parsing, semantic analysis, and vectorized text representation.

Logical-mathematical intelligence, historically considered the most prestigious form of intelligence and foundational to early IQ tests, is grounded in studies of formal reasoning and decision-making. Computability theory and mathematical logic are foundational for digital simulations, recommendation systems, and predictive modeling—evident in fuzzy logic, expert systems, machine learning, and deep learning at the heart of computational sciences.

Spatial intelligence connects with cognitive neuroscience research on spatial mental representation, visual perception, form recognition, and ergonomics—especially in interface design tailored to human perception. In digital practice, this includes 3D modeling, augmented and virtual reality, autonomous navigation for vehicles or robots, computer vision, image recognition, and simultaneous localization and mapping.

Musical intelligence relates to the perception and cognition of sound and its impact on the brain and emotions. Musicology, including therapeutic applications such as music therapy, is the key scientific field here. The digital realm enables automatic music generation, synthesis, classification, and recognition via deep learning, spectral analysis, audio signal processing, and generative models.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is the domain of movement neuroscience, proprioception, and studies on motor learning and biomimetic robotics. Gesture recognition, adaptive motor control, and humanoid robotics have led to intelligent prosthetics, exoskeletons, and brain-computer interfaces.

Interpersonal intelligence is studied in social psychology, sociology, and information and communication sciences. These fields examine socialization, emotion, and human interaction, applied to conversational agents and social AIs. They use natural language processing for contextual understanding and behavioral modeling in AI.

Intrapersonal intelligence refers to self-awareness, metacognition, and introspective reflection. Research here focuses on psychological and biometric signals to develop AI tools for psychological support (stress prevention, coaching, self-reflection).

Naturalistic intelligence is central to environmental sciences and cognitive ecology. Machine learning is used to recognize species, model ecosystems, and simulate climate conditions with smart sensors and ecological models.

Existential intelligence belongs to philosophy and connects with studies on artificial consciousness, exploring the intersection of AI with philosophical, ethical, and theological reflection. Immersive and augmented reality experiences support existential inquiry.

Howard Gardner (2007) adds to these forms of intelligence the "Five Minds for the Future": the disciplined mind, which corresponds to forms of intelligence and hyperspecialization; the synthesizing mind, which requires both transversal and complex thinking; the creative mind, or the capacity to think outside established frameworks; the respectful mind, meaning tolerance and cultural and social otherness; and the ethical mind, representing the ability to think in terms of ethical responsibility, professional ethics, and moral values.

Thus, exploring the design of intelligence means questioning how we conceive, mobilize, and project intelligence in its various expressions and forms, whether human, artificial, hybrid, or distributed. This symposium invites an interdisciplinary reflection on the processes that shape our relationship to intelligence and its manifestations in artifacts, systems, and design methods.
In a changing world where the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence are constantly being redefined, what ethical, epistemological, and technical perspectives can we envision? How can we design a future in which intelligence, in its multiplicity, contributes to responsible and inclusive innovation? This symposium aims to be a space for the exchange and confrontation of ideas to reflect on the contours of designing intelligence, by questioning its foundations, dynamics, and implications for research and society.