This website was homebase of the blog that I started in 2005. I also started ‘weeknotes’ as a weekly newsletter capturing the news, years ago already. First using the Revue tool, that was bought and later discontinued when Elon Musk acquired the Twitter in 2022. I moved the weekly newsletter to the Ghost platform, also named Target is New. I decided to rename the weekly weeknotes, back to a personal newsletter, since 5th of August 2025. Check it out here.
I will keep this website online for other posts than the weekly newsletter, and as an archive.
In the weekly newsletter, I share reflections on human-technology relations and the latest in robotics and augmented intelligence. I also track interesting events in this space and share an academic paper related weekly. You can subscribe to the newsletter via the newsletter service.
Or get in contact via: iskander[a]targetisnew.com – linkedin – bluesky
My knowledge of human-AI partnerships is built upon my work on the Cities of Things research program, which started in 2017 at Delft University of Technology when I was appointed as a Design United Visiting Professor. Together with Professor Elisa Giaccardi, we started a Delft Design Lab with this theme in 2018. In 2021, it became an independent foundation to generate new knowledge through explorations and real-world experiments with both academic partners and industry.
You can find more on Cities of Things research via the dedicated website. One longer-running initiative that started in 2022 is the Cities of Things LAB010 project in partnership with Creating010 of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, which resulted in Wijkbot / Hoodbot, a prototype toolkit for urban robotics, developed.
Since 2013, I have been the initiator, curator, and organizer of several community events. Behavior Design AMS ran for about 6 years, and Tech Solidarity for 2 years. In 2024, ThingsCon will be running for 10 years, and we are organizing a new edition in December 2024 to celebrate. I have been the initiator and organizer since 2014 and became a foundation in 2016. We run a yearly conference and dedicated Salons throughout the year. Find out more via the website.
If you are looking for details on my experience and activities, check the intro and profile here.
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