“Responsible innovation compels us to reflect on what sort of future(s) we want science and technology to bring into the world, what futures we care about, what challenges we want these to meet, what values these are anchored in, and whether the negotiations of such technologically- enabled futures are democratic.” – Owen et al; Developing a framework for responsible innovation, 2013
At In4Art, we have developed a novel approach to the challenge of responsible innovation – one which finds synergy between the R&D value of experimenting with new materials, technologies, and structures, and the propensity of artists to conduct such experimentation in their own work. *Art-Driven Innovation™* is our database-driven methodology for identifying promising ideas at the intersection of art & technology and then applying those ideas as drivers of ethical, inclusive, and equitable innovation.
The Art-Driven Innovation™ Method
Art-Driven Innovation is a method to generate ideas and include the insights from artistic experiments on technological and social domains to achieve more responsible innovations. It is about combing breakthrough technologies, sustainable development goals and artworks, thereby creating a new playing field for open innovation and strategic decisions. It is based on the view that economic and social progress should be regenerative and distributive to contribute towards a more green or care path for innovation.
The Art-Driven Innovation (ADI) method focusses on three areas:
“The arts have an impact on our high tech society because they accelerate innovations with new perspectives on applications of technology.”
– National Scientific Agenda of the Netherlands, 2018
We believe, and see evidence, that the intersection of these three areas holds potential for radical innovation. The ADI method is supported by a large database, enabling us to quickly match specific challenges and needs to potential partners.
To learn more about the ADI method and how to implement its principles in your own work, visit our dedicated site at artdriveninnovation.eu.
The Rationale
We can, of course, appreciate l’art pour l’art – for its aesthetic beauty or a thought-provoking concept. But at In4Art, we believe there’s more to it. The greatest potential of art perhaps lies in the ways in which its experiments are often at the forefront of societal and technological change. This is particularly exciting in those areas that are most likely to witness transformative change in the coming years and decades: the intersection between biology and technology, next generation internet, and materials for a sustainable future.
Artistic experiments help us to deconstruct the status quo; they enable us to see beyond existing structures. But they can also help us go one step further – to actively challenge the status quo and imagine feasible solutions for a better, more sustainable future. Our challenge is to translate these experiments into new structures that enable us to transition to a next economy – one which is inclusive and circular.
As well as sparking innovation, artistic experimentation can also function as an engine for that innovation. By thinking differently, hacking, and challenging current thought structures, new possibilities arise from which we can construct responsible innovations – innovations that redefine value in broader terms than financial growth and promote the use of assets over their ownership.
Far from being a ‘one-way street’, the relationship between art and innovation can often prove to be mutually beneficial. Consider, for example, the ways in which we might realise new practices by applying mysterious new technologies, moving said technologies in new directions, or giving existing technologies a completely new function or meaning. And it almost goes without saying that proposing solutions to the biggest problems of our time is a visually strong vehicle for most any artist.
“Today’s economy is degenerative by default. Tomorrow’s economy must be distributive and regenerative by design.” – Kate Raworth, renegade economist