This week I had the deep pleasure of chatting with Sebastian Löwe, a design leader whose career beautifully bridges academia, creativity, and applied AI.
Sebastian’s journey into the world of AI began in 2017, sparked by a seminar exploring technology and art. That moment catalyzed a path that led to a bestselling book, a conference dedicated to design and AI, and a professorship in design management. But rather than staying in academia, Sebastian felt called to make a more immediate impact: bringing his insights directly into industry.
Now, as Design Director at Virtual Identity in Munich, he leads a talented team of UX designers and spearheads the AI Ambassador Program, fostering a culture of curiosity and hands-on AI exploration.
In our conversation, we dug into his concept of the Empathic Web—a future where AI doesn’t just optimize or accelerate, but understands and responds to human emotion. What happens when machines can read our frustration or joy, and adjust in real-time? What are the risks—and the responsibilities—for designers? What does it mean to design for an emotional world with ephemeral, agent-driven interfaces?
We talked about ethics, about the blurry line between helpful and harmful, and about why digital empathy might just be one of the most powerful forces shaping the future of human-computer interaction. I especially loved our exploration of how designers might evolve—beyond funnels and static flows—to become orchestrators of dynamic, emotionally intelligent systems.
It was such a rich and energizing conversation. I left it with more questions than answers, and that’s always a good thing.
Thanks again, Sebastian, for such a thoughtful and inspiring chat. I know listeners will get as much from it as I did.
Share this post