DesignMeets

As AI accelerates into our organizations, creative tools and frameworks, it challenges assumptions at the core of human-centered design. This session invites design practitioners to notice, question, and reflect together on how AI is reshaping our practice, and build a collective picture of how human-centred design is evolving in the age of AI.

In this session we will explore questions such as, but not limited to:

Where are you noticing AI influencing the work that you do?
Are there assumptions about human-centered design that are being challenged by AI?
How is AI showing up in client briefs, conversations, and expectations?
- What is most exciting and concerning in your context? What new skills, practices or mindsets might we need?
What are the impacts of AI and Synthetic users on Design Research and the ethics around it?

Panelists

Alex Ryan

CEO, Synthetikos

Alex Ryan is the CEO of Synthetikos, a boutique global strategy and innovation consultancy based in Toronto that helps transformational leaders to shift systems. He previously led partner solutions at MaRS, helping government and corporate partners accelerate the adoption of innovation in their organizations, markets and cities with a focus on youth employment, energy transition and tech stewardship.

Alex is an Executive in Residence with the Business Design Initiative at Rotman and teaches strategy, foresight and design at the Canadian Forces College. Alex is co-founder of Alberta CoLab, the first provincial government innovation lab in Canada. As a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, Alex previously helped introduce operational and strategic design into the U.S. Army. Alex holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide in applied mathematics. His dissertation advanced a multidisciplinary approach to complex systems design.

Kem-Laurin Lubin

PhD Candidate, University of Waterloo

Kem-Laurin Lubin is a PhD Candidate at the University of Waterloo, where she researches Computational Rhetoric, rhetorical theory, and the role of artificial intelligence in shaping digital identity. Her scholarship examines how AI and computational methods influence identity construction, with a focus on equity, ethics, and representation.

She is the Executive Director and co-chair of the AI Global South Summit, a platform that brings together leaders from Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, and Latin America to share experiences and strategies on AI and emerging technologies. Through this work, she champions knowledge exchange and policy dialogue that foreground the priorities of developing nations in global digital governance.

Her publications include User Experience in the Age of Sustainability (Elsevier, 2012) and latest book, Design Heuristics for Emerging Technologies: AI, Data, & Human-Centered Futures (2025). She also presents widely on AI, data design, and human-computer interaction heuristics, emphasizing frameworks that center dignity, justice, and cultural specificity.

Bridging design leadership with humanities scholarship, Kem-Laurin advocates for ethically grounded, context-sensitive AI systems. Her work advances a vision of the Global South as not only a participant but a shaper of global AI discourse—ensuring technologies reflect diverse epistemologies and foster cooperation that amplifies humanity’s finest qualities.

Patrick Bach

AVP Experience Design, Manulife Wealth and Asset Management

Patrick Bach leads Manulife’s Wealth & Asset Management Experience Design team supporting Public Sites, Secure Experiences, Mobile Apps and AI tools. His teams are focused on growing and scaling digital design standards and human-centered ways of working across Manulife ensuring that we are meeting and exceeding our customer’s expectations. Previously, Patrick lead Design & Digital Product teams at Accenture where he worked closely with Canada’s largest Financial Services companies and before that lead “in-house” design teams at TD, CIBC and TELUS. Patrick is also a part-time educator and speaker.

Stef Hutka

Head of Design Research, Sendfull

Stef Hutka helps teams bring useful, usable AI, XR, and robotics products to market. She is the founder of Sendfull, a boutique consultancy for emerging technology teams. Previously, Stef led design research and strategy for 0-to-1 product launches at Adobe, Meta, and DAQRI. Stef also teaches UX and systems thinking at UC Berkeley, and is the author of the forthcoming book, Designing Automated Futures, on how to design automated systems that keep humans at the center (Rosenfeld Media, Spring 2026). She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Toronto.

DesignMeets x Business Design Initiative: AI & Human-Centered Design

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