AI Make Sloyd
NordFo Conference 2024
September 18-20, 2024 at Åbo Akademi University, Vaasa, Finland
The three words of the conference theme capture the versatility, richness and complexity of crafts/sloyd in different contexts and the different functions that crafts/sloyd have in relation to human existence and well-being in society.
The first word “AI” captures the breadth of who is an active participant in different kinds of craft processes. The subject of the conference theme can vary from “I” to the new phenomena and forms of activity that “Artificial Intelligence, AI” can bring to the field of crafts.
How is the future of craft/sloyd and thereto-related learning shaped within the continuum from I to AI and what readiness do we have to meet the challenges and opportunities that new phenomena, technologies, materials and approaches present to us. The intention is to reflect on how new phenomena such as AI can be a resource, but also a critical component to address in activities where humans process materials into physical artefacts, and where diverse learning is expected to take place. Within the framework of the first concept of “I–AI”, it is also possible to consider craft activities that continue to be based on elements of making together. The word “We” then emerges as a third concept.
The second word of the conference theme “Make” provides an opportunity to continue to consider the “Maker-focused” themes that the previous NordFo conferences have clearly emphasised in their conference themes. The continuum from “making to craft” provides space to consider, among other things, questions concerning material production in normative and non-normative environments. How can non-normative, expert-driven making environments influence normative environments, such as schools? How can normative craft activities provide inspiration for individuals to continue to see it as important and rewarding to be involved in both self-driven and organised craft activities.
The third word of the conference theme “Sloyd” is based on the ancient ability of humans to create in different materials with different motifs. What does the positively charged cunning of the concept of craftsmanship mean in contemporary and future society? We can only imagine what humanity would look like if we had no ability to use our minds, bodies and tools to transform concrete materials into artefacts of various kinds. What once might have been a matter of constructing artefacts that made life more bearable at a basic level has evolved into, among other things, ever more sophisticated industrial processes, an ever broader adaptation of craft/sloyd as a hobby, utilitarian craft and cultural expression. In modern society, we occasionally need to stop and consider the situation we are. Questions like “where are we now?” need to be related to “what has happened in the past?” but, above all, we need to constantly look ahead to try to envision and map out where we want to go. “We” refers here to the collective expertise that Nordic craft/sloyd research and craft education has managed to create over decades of research and development work in the important field of crafts/sloyd.