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Re-Wildering Our Senses
Rediscovering and Developing Our Animal Intelligence
As artificial intelligence and AI agents continue to dominate discussions about the future, I feel compelled to highlight something equally important: organic intelligence and animal instinct.
The rapid advancement of technology must not make us forget the extraordinary capacities we humans possess through our senses. Some, like sight and visual processing, have been heavily trained and enhanced in the digital age, while others—such as our sense of smell—have been neglected and dulled. It’s time to reclaim and re-learn this powerful and often underestimated sense.
My favorite sense!
Science is finally recognizing that smells carry critical information. We already know that dogs can detect early signs of serious illnesses or warn of an impending epileptic seizure. Unlike sight, which registers what has already happened, our sense of smell can detect changes years before a medical diagnosis—for example, identifying Parkinson’s disease up to 12 years in advance. And not just by machines—by humans!
Emma Frans, in Svenska Dagbladet, shared a striking example:
*“Once upon a time, smell was one of the most important tools for doctors when diagnosing patients. Modern research now shows that it is possible to detect Parkinson’s, diabetes, and even cancer through scent.
Twelve years before Scottish man Les Milne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 45, his wife Joy sensed something was wrong. She noticed that her husband had developed an unusual smell. After his diagnosis, she met other Parkinson’s patients and realized they all shared the same characteristic scent.”*
Historically, doctors routinely used their sense of smell in diagnosis. Today, we are seeing rapid technological advancements in e-noses—electronic noses equipped with sensors that can recognize scent patterns. These tools have enormous potential in healthcare and could reestablish smell as a crucial part of medical diagnostics.
But alongside this technological progress, we must also train our own human abilities to detect and interpret scents. Physicians should develop their sensory skills as a complement to AI-based tools, rather than relying on them entirely.
We have yet to fully address the ethical implications of our growing dependence on these systems—questions of responsibility and human accountability. Future healthcare must not be built solely on machine precision but rather on a collaboration between humans, animals, and technology, where all senses are included. Only then can we create a more holistic and preventive approach to healthcare, one that embraces the full potential of our biological and sensory intelligence.
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The Hummingbird and The Future of Cities
Drawing of the neural network hummingbird, by Karin Victorin
Some say the hummingbird should not be able to fly. Its wings move so fast that it creates the illusion of existing in multiple places at once—like a quantum state, like a neural network, like an intricate web of connections spanning time and space.
Fragile yet powerful, it is so delicate that it is said to never survive more than 24 hours in captivity. And yet, it is one of the most resilient creatures in the world—a being of pure movement, thriving only in freedom, adaptation, and connection. In many Indigenous traditions, the hummingbird is a messenger of joy, a bringer of lightness in heavy times of challenge, reminding us to seek delight even in the most complex landscapes. HUMMINGBIRD carries a message from deep time—that the future is not something to be captured or controlled, but something to be danced with, embraced, and co-created with curiosity and care.
This is why the hummingbird became our symbol of Beyond Blueprints—one of four future scenarios we developed within The Futures We Build, a project led by Media Evolution and funded by Formas & the Swedish Energy Agency.
Beyond Blueprints – A Vision for Living Cities
The transdisciplinary team behind Beyond Blueprints—Vanessa Ware, Malin Lampa, Maria Lindelöf, Bo Baudin, and myself, Karin Victorin—believes cities should be living, breathing ecosystems, shaped by imagination, adaptability, and co-creation. Instead of static blueprints and rigid masterplans, we need urban environments that grow, regenerate, and respond to life—where people don’t just live, but actively shape the places that care for them.
🔥 Now, this vision is alive at Form/Design Center in Malmö until March 16th, where you can step into the future through LumenMind, a sensory AI fireplace I built as part of the exhibition. It invites visitors to reflect on the city we know and imagine the city that could be.
Wild Ride – Taking the Vision Further
As Beyond Blueprints launches into the world, Vanessa Ware and I are now exploring the path forward.
Together, through my company Wild Ride, we create immersive experiences, speculative storytelling, and strategic futures work—helping organizations navigate change with imagination and intelligence.
I come from a background as an artist, AI expert, and senior creative director with a master’s degree in social sciences, specializing in transdisciplinary work at the intersection of technology, storytelling, and human experience. Vanessa brings expertise in innovation and urban processes, making her an invaluable partner in shaping new futures.
Our work is about rewilding imagination—helping cities, businesses, and institutions break free from outdated structures and embrace the cycles of change and regeneration.
Step Into the Future with Us
📍 Visit the exhibition at Form/Design Center before March 16!
Experience Beyond Blueprints and three other visions shaping the future of cities.
💡 We are expanding our work and seeking new partners & projects. If you’re working with urban futures, AI, speculative design, or cultural transformation, let’s talk!
👥 Please get in touch if you are working at the intersection of tech, culture, and urban development!
🔗 More details: beyondblueprints.se
Categories
Stockholm Design Week
I just had the honor of moderating a session at Stockholm Furniture Fair, where young designers, in collaboration with Stockholm Stad, reimagined the future of the city’s quays. Their bold ideas transform the waterfront into dynamic, inclusive and vibrant spaces—proving that young minds and imagination is a powerful tool in shaping our urban futures. ✨ Just like in Beyond Blueprints, where we explore new ways of designing life between buildings, these young voices remind us that the city is a canvas for possibility.
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Den Stora Väven/The Great Weave
A Ruby Rose Production
I’ve been working on an application with an extended project plan for quite some time, and I’m thrilled to share that Rebecca Tiger, Olle Bjerkås, and I have been granted funding and support from Svenska Postkodstiftelsen to bring our dream project, The Great Weave, to life. This interactive play marks the third and final part of the trilogy Arise Amazons! The Green Theory. Svenska Postkodstiftelsen focuses on projects that spark imagination and explore ways to create a better, more sustainable future. We’re incredibly excited to contribute to this vision!
“Our inquiry for the project: What does it mean to be human in an age shaped by AI, wars, and climate crises? And how can moral and sacred imagination guide us in weaving more just, compassionate, and livable futures?”
Categories
LumenMind And A Wild New Year
Hey there, fellow wanderers of the digital cosmos and this planet we call Earth!
2024, I will be diving into the depths of my creative journey with LumenMind, and I am expecting and adventurous Wild Ride of art and innovation.
Picture this: me, surrounded by the lush greenery, or snowy white, of the forest, with LumenMind perched atop my head like a crown of light. I have started to explore with this illumine device at Selva Studio’s indoor and outdoor art happenings. A DJ was spinning beats, and as the music pulsed through the trees- LumenMind synced with the rhythm, casting an ethereal glow (see image above or more on my instagram).
There’s something truly other-worldly about watching LumenMind weave its magic among the crowd. It’s like a silent storyteller, translating the language of emotions into a pulsating symphony of light and color. This little beacon of creativity perched on my head has a way of breaking down barriers and inviting people into a space of sensory interaction. It’s a reminder that art isn’t just about what you see; it’s about what you feel, what you experience, and the connections you make along the way.
LumenMind is in its beginning of being created and is a collaboration with designer Olle Bjerkås. It’s more than just a piece of technology; it’s a portal to a world of possibilities. It’s a reminder to embrace the unknown.
In my ongoing exploration, I’ve embarked on collaborations with designers and programmers to create more-than-human add-ons, gadgets, and wearables. These prototypes aim to prototype benign forms of technology, augmenting our waning human capabilities. LumenMind facilitates the tuning into and re-experiencing of our senses, prompting us to reconnect with our corporeal selves. It serves as a reminder that we are not merely beings of the mind but also of the body, where our senses are intricately interwoven with our environment.
As neural networks manifest in our nervous system, they find resonance in the reimagination within AI machines. My artwork is a testament to the exploration and practical experimentation of human-machine mirroring, envisioning a future where this symbiotic relationship births extraordinary new entities.
As I wrap up this little diary entry, I invite you to join me on this journey. Strap on a LumenMind, and let’s illuminate the world together, as pulsating light entangled in an embrace of multi-colored realities.
Until next time, keep shining bright, my friends!
Categories
Artificial Nature Transposium
Me with my poster after presenting my lightning talk at the Artificial Nature Symposium at The House of Music in Aalborg, Denmark. This inspiring event was orchestrated by Elizabeth Jochum and life science/robotics artist Cody Lukas.
My talk focused on my artistic research, where I explore how humans attribute agency and project life onto objects—from ancient ritual artifacts, as studied by Durkheim and Turner, to contemporary social robots and AI agents.
Through my performances, I aim to redefine agency and collaboration within human-machine ecosystems. By activating sensory awareness and imagination, I explore how we can bridge life-as-we-know-it with life-as-it-could-be, envisioning new pathways for collaboration between humanity, AI, and the natural world.
What do you imagine these pathways could look like?
More about ANT: https://www.anthub.dk/
ANT brings together researchers working within the emerging areas of Artificial Life and Complex Systems, aiming to understand and synthesize life-like systems and apply bio-inspired synthetic methods to other science/engineering disciplines, including AI, Robotics, Computer Modelling, Synthetic Biology, Bio-Materials, and Bio-Architecture, among others. Sustainable development of technologically-mediated complex systems is at the core of ANT, and for this discussion, we bring a transdisciplinary group of innovators, boundary-pushing companies, and creatives in the room. The symposium creates opportunities for experts from diverse fields and sectors to come together to further our understanding of how sciences and technologies of Artificial Nature can advance human–society–nature interactions.
Last week at The Conference Media Evolution,
I came away with new powerful insights about the concept of “wild” becomings. While I’ve long understood the importance of rewilding both nature and ourselves, I was excited to see this topic take center stage at The Conference. It felt like FINALLY , ‘wild’ is not just a buzzword, but a vital focus of discussion.
Artist Jemma Foster opened with her sound experiments in nature, engaging with stones, plants, and other non-human elements through her Wild Alchemy Lab. Her work highlighted the deep connection between art, nature, and rewilding.
Giulia Testa, in her talk “Rewilding Us”, introduced Rewilding Europe’s project, focusing on methods for reintroducing wild species, like the endangered Przewalski’s horses, back into their natural habitats, and how that can help restore ecological balance. I see this also as a metafor for restoring inner balance through the way of the horse. 🐴
A standout was the keynote on “Rewilding Our Imaginations”, which explored how rewilding isn’t just ecological but also a shift in mindset and creativity.
The Conference summarized this approach with a thought-provoking quote from the program:
“Rewilding pays attention to the emergent properties of interactions between ‘things’ in ecosystems … a move from linear to systems thinking.”
—Paul Jepson & Cain Blythe, Rewilding: The Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery
As someone whose company, Wild Ride, resonates with the theme of “wild,” this focus on rewilding struck a personal chord. I believe these ideas will increasingly shape my future work. However, I also sensed frustration with outdated systems that restrict the “wild” — whether in workspaces, everyday life, or nature itself.
As change-makers, how can we integrate this wild energy into our daily lives and work environments? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share with comments if you like.
Let’s start the shift together!
Wild Ride AB and Karin Victorin, in the role of artist and AI expert, have been selected by Media Evolution for a major research project funded by Smart Built Environment and Formas. Vanessa Ware, is the brilliant mind behind the application and she will be leading the team and joining Wild Ride’s journey in the fall.
Dream team! This fall, this incredible interdisciplinary team (composed of innovative urban developers, socially driven advanced digitization strategists, an artist working with collective imagination and AI, and a systems-thinking process leader) will create a future vision, 🍃 Beyond Blueprints 🍃, about how residents can live in and influence their city in a safe, meaningful, and joyful way.
The vision will aim to enhance the understanding of how stakeholders—particularly those shaping the conditions for life between buildings—can achieve their sustainability goals, especially the social ones, with the help of advanced digitalization. These are critical paths of societal development today that we hope will become a natural combination in the future. But what will that look like?!
🌿 Can residents experience, engage with, and help develop their city in a safe and joyful way? 🌿 Can we make informed (and improvised) decisions about sustainable life choices in a daily life where circumstances can change rapidly? 🌿 How, through new ways of being connected (and disconnected), can we be part of a resilient city?
Smart Built Environment is a strategic innovation program focused on how the community building sector can contribute to Sweden’s journey towards becoming a global leader in realizing the new opportunities brought by digitalization.
The Beyond Blueprint team: Malin Lampa, advanced digital stategist at TechSeed/Karin Victorin, CEO Wild Ride/Katrin Behdjou Arshi, Director of Urban Development at Fastighetsägarna/Vanessa Ware, Process Leader with expertise in sustainable impact innovation/
I am this week’s guest expert in think tank FUTURION’s podcast.
(Text published in Swedish on Futurion’s website)
Karin Victorin är tv-producent, kreatör med ett passionerat intresse för hur AI och robotteknologi påverkar människor och samhälle. I senaste avsnittet av podden Framtidens Färdigheter, gästar hon Futurions Ann-Therése Enarsson för att prata om risker och möjligheter när anställningsintervjuerna görs av en robot istället för en människa.
De sociala robotarna får allt större utrymme och används idag i allt högre grad som medhjälpare i rekryteringsprocesser.
– Det som verkligen exploderar just nu, tack vare ChatGPT, är rekryteringsverktyg som baseras på chatbots, säger Karin Victorin i podden.
Rekryteringsbottar marknadsförs som fördomsfria – en robot som är ”blind” kan inte döma utifrån hudfärg, ålder eller kön. Men det finns flera exempel på då det blivit fel, påpekar Karin Victorin.
– I Sydkorea hade toppstudenter svårt att få jobb när en rekryteringsbot gjorde urvalet. I intervjun fick du inte visa för starka känslor, utan var tvungen att vara neutral i ditt ansikte. En ung man som var toppstudent kom inte vidare i processen för att han visade osäkerhet i sin blick. Det här väckte stora frågor hos mig som även håller på med teater. Måste vi lära oss att ha pokerface nu?, säger Karin Victorin.
En annan risk är i chefsrekryteringar, där roboten tolkar datan som om att de bästa ledarna är män, eftersom det sett ut så historiskt. Det har lett till att verktyget främst rekryterat män.
– Det är bra att vi försöker skapa fördomsfria verktyg, men det är svårt.
AI kommer även att påverka den som förbereder sig inför en jobbintervju. Som arbetssökande kan man behöva lära sig hur roboten fungerar och lära sig att behärska sitt kroppsspråk.
– Man tränar sig på de här intervjuerna, vilket gör att vissa personer som har gjort det förut har en fördel. Det finns dyra kurser där man lär sig skådespela mot ett rekryteringsverktyg som är utrustat med biometriska system som läser av ögonkontakt, entusiasm, leende och tal. Redan med sociala medier har vi blivit väldigt medvetna om våra selfie-ansikten. Nu når det en helt ny nivå, säger Karin Victorin.
Vilka känslor är svåra att fånga för en rekryterarrobot?
– En egenskap som är svår att läsa av med biometriska system är karisma. Det är även svårt att läsa av prestationsångest eller om man tycker synd om sig själv. Komplexa känslouttryck och personlighetsdrag är fortfarande väldigt svårt.
Så varför använder man över huvud taget AI inom rekrytering och HR?
– Jag tror att det har blivit populärt för att det är väldigt kostnadseffektivt och för att det kan innebära färre fördomar i en första sortering. Men helt fördomsfri är ju ingen metod än så länge.