Story on demand | Luca Morena, Nextatlas

Trend forecasting has always been driven by the intuition of "experts" or inherently limited and imprecise methods. The advent of Big Data technologies — and the developments in areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning — has enabled the innovation of processes in many areas where trend analysis has traditionally been limited, such as data collection, massive data analysis and the identification of macro-patterns invisible to the human eye. Through the use of data and new technologies, it is easy to gain insight into trends in many sectors, from the food to the fashion industry, for example. But new conceptual challenges also arise, from the reliability of algorithmic predictions to the bias of the datasets used, to the role of the designer when these AI evolve from being not only predictive but also generative, capable of generating original content, forcing us to reconsider the nature of a creative process, of inspiration and authorship. Rethink! is promoted by POLI.design – Politecnico di Milano and the Service Innovation Academy.  Main Sponsor of Rethink! is PwC Italy. rethinkfestival.it