Workshop: Pandemic Fiction 
Co-hosted by Daimler

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Will the current pandemic be over as soon as a majority of the population has been vaccinated, or is the virus mutating faster than vaccination is proceeding? Does this mean the pandemic be with us forever?

The Covid-19 pandemic is rooted in density and mobility. Population density allows the virus to spread very fast. But a virus cannot move on its own—if a community's physical borders were impermeable and static, they would be borders for the virus, too.

However, human beings move, both within their communities and across national and internal borders. For many people, the ability to move freely is a defining experience, something that helps them understand the world around them and their place in it. In this session, we will show artwork from design artists illustrating their "little worlds" while being immobilized. We want to use these artworks as springboards to discuss opportunities to become mobile again. Hosted by Alexander Mankowsky from Daimler. 

Alexander Mankowsky
Born in Berlin in 1957, Alexander studied Sociology, Philosophy and Psychology at the Free University of Berlin. He graduated in 1984 with the title of Diplom Soziologe.

After four years in social services helping troubled children, he decided to follow the Zeitgeist and enrolled at a post graduate university, focusing on the then new field of Artificial Intelligence. After heavy programming in OOS and Prolog, he earned the title of ‘Knowledge Engineer.’ Since 1989, Alexander has worked in the research unit at Daimler AG, initially focusing on societal trends in mobility. This led him in 2001 to his current field of work as Futurist and Mobility Philosopher at Daimler Research.

Alexander is focused on human-centered innovation utilizing futuristic technological concepts. He is embedded in Daimler’s rich and diverse creative network.