DOI: 10.18848/2325-1379/cgp/a156 ISSN: 2325-1395

Reading Codex Artificialia

Silvio Cioni, Giovanni Caruso, Burcu Erbas
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<p>The expanding presence of artificial intelligence (AI) in design practice calls for shared formats that enable critical reflection on shifting relations of agency, authorship, and value. This article presents a reading of <em>Codex Artificialia</em>, a participatory speculative artifact generated through a futures jam structured around distributed scenario configurations. The codex is approached as a designed object whose function is interpretive rather than representational: it gathers heterogeneous speculative entries that mediate collective sensemaking about AI–design interplay. Drawing on research through design (RTD), the study analyzes both the workshop apparatus and the codex entries. The apparatus, composed of opposing axes, 2&nbsp;×&nbsp;2 matrices, partial disclosure, and modular prompts, oriented speculation without prescribing outcomes. Close reading and thematic clustering of the entries reveal patterned tendencies: AI is predominantly imagined as ambient and assistive rather than dominant; design activities are frequently operationalized around evaluation and optimization; and ethical or ideological attributes are selectively translated or dismissed. Participants gravitate toward guidance-oriented and human-aligned scenarios while avoiding automation-heavy or authority-driven configurations. The findings suggest that participatory artifacts such as the <em>Codex Artificialia</em> catalog function as <em>reflective infrastructures</em>, making visible not only emerging imaginaries of AI-infused design but also the limits and preferences embedded in those imaginaries. By foregrounding designed objects and futures jam formats as <em>interpretive devices</em>, this research contributes to understanding how design communities negotiate technology-led narratives through structured collective speculation.</p>

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