June 10th 2026 | Deep Dive Session

Hosted by the Sustainable AI Cluster, Inclusive AI Lab + University of Bonn 

Lead: Wakanyi Hoffman, UU PhD on Ubuntu AI ethics, Inclusive AI Lab, Sustainable AI lead (NL)

Convening leads: Vanja Škorić, Program Director at the European Center for Not-for-profit Law & PhD at the Civic AI Lab;  Dr. Chelsea Haramia, Senior Research Fellow, Desirable AI project at the Center for Science and Thought, University of Bonn 

This Ubuntu Futures Workshop aims to explore how Ubuntu inspired foresight methodologies can inform inclusive, ethical, and localized innovations in security, biodiversity, and digital governance. The workshop will link local knowledge systems, future-oriented science, and emerging AI applications in institutional and environmental management through the lens of human, planetary and extraplanetary flourishing. We will explore integrative perspectives on shared futures – from local communities and social infrastructures to eco- and solar systems, whose interaction requires new forms of responsibility and design. Desirable AI is context-dependent and provides the tools to map old terrain and navigate new discoveries. By reflecting not only on sustainable and ethical but also on desirable technological futures, we can think together about how to direct collective knowledge toward collective flourishing.

Goal: To convene practitioners, policymakers, technologists, and scholars to co-design inclusive AI futures grounded in Ubuntu ethics, local knowledge, and future-oriented innovation.

Provocators:

Christiane Schäfer, Coordinator of Desirable AI, University of Bonn (Germany)

Dr. Brigitta Iványi-Bitter, Research Fellow at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design(Hungary) 

Dr. Chux Daniels, Transformative Innovation Policy, University of Pretoria, Director, Transformative Innovation Africa Hub(UK/South Africa)

Ron Guerrier, Chief Technology Officer Save the Children | Former Illinois Secretary of Innovation | CIO Hall of Fame Inductee | USC Doctoral Candidate: AI (USA)

Prof. Sennay Ghebreab, Professor, Founder & Scientific Director, Civic AI Lab| University of Amsterdam 

Dr. Adina Nerghes, Senior Researcher and Impact Measurement Specialist at Oxfam Novib (The Netherlands)