The Body Knows: What Design Reveals in the Era of Algorithmic Intelligence

In today’s edition:

In edition #7 of The Augmented Human, you’ll find:

• My latest thoughts on what it means to be human in the age of AI: The Body Knows: What Design Reveals in the Era of Algorithmic Intelligence

• What happens when AI can generate anything? That was the central question at Friday's “Beyond Perception: Blurring Mediums” panel, where I was privileged to gather pioneers across architecture, gaming, wellness and design to explore how emerging tech is reshaping their fields.

• This conversation is the jumping off point for this week’s thought piece.

• Were you at the event? If so please share your thoughts and feedback by responding to this email.

The Body Knows: What Design Reveals in the Era of Algorithmic Intelligence

At Beyond Perception: Blurring Mediums, a panel I hosted on the frontiers of design, six pioneers spanning architecture, gaming, mindfulness, and sensory artistry gathered amidst tactile and sustainable design installations to explore how emerging technology is reshaping the human experience. From architecture to consciousness, their work reveals an unexpected trajectory: as artificial intelligence expands our cognitive capabilities, design is forging pathways back to our embodied intelligence.

"We'll become very cerebrally intelligent," observed meditation teacher Manoj Dias, "but we're going to disconnect ourselves completely from our bodies." He painted a future where we might ask ChatGPT to interpret our emotions rather than feeling them directly. Yet rather than resist this shift, Dias has turned to dance as a way to develop somatic intelligence—suggesting that as machines claim the mind's territory, we discover new value in bodily knowing.

This return to the body isn't theoretical. Sensorial artist Moral Turgeman's haptic designs, experienced throughout the evening, demonstrate how technology can deepen our physical self-awareness. "You'll be living in it," she predicted of our sensorial future. Her installations don't just create novel sensations—they return us to our bodies, helping us "tune into ourselves" in ways that digital interfaces actively suppress.

Surrealist game designer Kelsey Falter, founder of Mother Games, takes this mission to mobile devices, traditionally sites of disconnection. Her game Le Zoo intentionally counters the commercial materialism of platforms like Roblox. Where Roblox integrates IKEA catalogs, Le Zoo digitizes sustainable art and design, including pieces from the exhibition. Her game's tagline captures the mission: "The only way out is within."

This inward journey becomes more urgent as AI democratizes creation. Entertainment veteran Kai Henry describes how AI helps materialize what's in your mind's eye—but this raises a crucial question: what vision will you manifest? With technical barriers lowering, authenticity and inner knowing become paramount. "Building community is an actual talent," Henry argues, one that needs teaching more than ever.

The role of technology in this shift appears paradoxical but clear. Architect Sofia Hagen's 3D-printed sugar meditation bench represents years of biomaterial research, while architecture critic Ben Dreith notes AI's true power lies in "logistics before aesthetics." Technology handles process and optimization, clearing space for human creativity and connection.

What ties these works together is their recognition that embodied intelligence—our ability to feel, sense, and know through our bodies—becomes more valuable as algorithmic thinking becomes commodified. "Why don't you believe that's the way it's meant to be?" Falter asks of those questioning serendipitous encounters. This intuitive knowing, accessed through the body, offers wisdom that computation can't replicate.

We're entering an era where, as Turgeman suggests, we'll live immersed in sensorial technology. The question isn't whether to embrace this future but how to use it to deepen rather than escape our embodied experience. As Dias puts it, "You don't need to know all the answers. Instead, fall in love with the questions."

This is what design reveals in the age of algorithmic intelligence: as machines extend our mental capabilities, they illuminate the wisdom that has lived in our bodies all along. The future belongs not to those who can think fastest or process most, but to those who maintain connection to their somatic intelligence—who can feel the weight of a moment, sense the currents beneath words, and stay present in a world pulling us everywhere at once.

Technology's role isn't to replace human intelligence but to reveal its deeper nature. The challenge ahead isn't mastering algorithms but staying tethered to our embodied wisdom while using AI to amplify our authentic vision. In this light, technological advancement becomes a path not away from but back to what makes us fundamentally human.

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