Designing the Future: Cecilia Tham on AI, Food, and Innovation

The future synthesist and entrepreneur talks about today's innovative projects that are shaping a better tomorrow

You can't control the future. Unless, of course, you're Cecilia Tham (@future_synthesist). The entrepreneur and future synthesist believes that tomorrow can be built today.

With over fifteen years of experience in innovation, technology, and design, she helps companies envision, strategize, and create products that will shape and change the course of the future for people across the globe.

Alongside fellow innovator and entrepreneur Mark Bünger, she founded Futurity Studio, a cutting-edge consultancy that brings together top-level data scientists and industrial designers who work at the intersection of technology, society, and business innovation to build better futures faster.

Want to learn more? Watch the video below for an exclusive look at the work of one of this century’s most innovative minds:

Revolutionizing through artificial intelligence

We live in exciting times. Thanks to technology, we are able to access knowledge in a way that has never before been possible, enabling us to be at our most innovative and creative. To demonstrate this, Cecilia and co-founder Mark Bünger reveal one of the many fascinating projects underway at Futurity Studio.

We are introduced to an avatar made by AI company Soul Machines, who talks and interacts just like a real human. By harnessing a tool called GPT-3, this hyper-realistic digital person is able to create anything that has a language structure, such as answering questions, translating languages, and even creating computer code.

Cecilia is currently looking at which areas this groundbreaking technology can be applied, such as increasing student engagement in the field of education.

Food for thought

Another area that continues to fascinate Cecilia and her team is food. The studio is currently working on a number of projects centered around the concept of “separating" certain sensory elements such as tasting without actually eating, or consuming alcohol without drinking by inhaling it as a vapor instead.

“One of my interests in food is this separation, what I call de-coupling,” she explains. “The interesting part is that once you separate these things, you can re-combine them in new ways, a different smell with a different texture, with a different chewiness.”

Changing the world

While experimenting with projects such as these is undoubtedly fun, Cecilia sees every challenge as a way to learn, grow, and ultimately, create meaningful change on a global level. “I envisioned my work and my colleagues’ work to be able to build a better future, not just for myself, but for everyone,” she says.

Can't wait to see what she discovers next? If you want to travel to the future and design the look and function of an innovative, problem-solving product by combining research, design, and strategy, check out Cecilia’s online course Designing Products of the Future.

Learn more about innovation and creativity

1. What is futurism? Learn about this systematic study of possible futures and how it is applied creatively to influence art and design.

2. Explore the world of AI art: learn all about the history of artificial intelligence and art, how artists use AI, and how to generate your own.

3. If you're interested in sustainable DIY design, learn how to make your own lamp out of plastic bottles.

4. Explore human-centered design to develop solutions focused on people in this introductory course by 23 Design.