CMU Experiential Futures Showcase: T&C of Expression
Ever scrolled past the fine print of your freedom?
Terms & Conditions of Expression invites you to explore the blurred boundary between free speech and harm and what it means to “agree” in an age of algorithmic truth.
This immersive experience across different "quadrants" takes 15-20 minutes, and visitors are welcome anytime between 4:00 and 5:30 PM.
💬 After the Experience: A Hidden Conversation:
Guests who stay after their tour may discover unannounced roundtables: intimate, thought-provoking discussions with the creators and guests, reflecting on what freedom of speech might mean when the lines blur between expression, responsibility, and silence.
(Because sometimes, the dialogue after the future is where the real story begins.)
About the Experience:
What if freedom of speech had a user agreement?
What if the act of expression required your consent?
Terms & Conditions of Expression is the culminating showcase of graduate students in “Integrated Innovation for Large-Scale Problems,” a course taught by Professor Karimulla Shaikh at Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley.
This course equips aspiring product managers and innovators to navigate wicked problems - large, complex challenges with no single solution. Students learn to apply concepts from system thinking and future studies to deeply analyze such problems, map stakeholder ecosystems, and co-design viable interventions toward desirable futures.
Each year, the class tackles a single social problem as a vehicle for learning, from healthcare accessibility to financial abuse and political polarization.
This semester’s theme:
Navigating the elusive boundary between free expression and harmful speech to foster a safe and inclusive space.
Using speculative design and experiential storytelling, students have created interactive artifacts and immersive scenarios that bring this future to life, challenging participants to confront critical questions:
What happens when speech is ungoverned?
Who decides what’s harmful?
And what freedoms do we unknowingly sign away every time we click “I Agree”?
Come ready to think, feel, and engage.
Leave questioning your own terms of expression.
Scroll to the end before you sign your soul.
(Expertly supported behind the scenes by an ex-LSP student, Sahaana Das, whose effort has been essential to organizing this public EXF event.)