In this episode of The State of Inquiry: Design in Service of Humanity, Hoa Vo and Megan Young explore how emerging technologies can support and extend--rather than diminish or replace--our humanity. Vo shares how AI and virtual reality can model human behavior in architectural spaces before they are built, helping designers create more intuitive, human-centered environments. Young reflects on her transmedia, community-centered art practice, which examines how technological systems can support cultural preservation and transmission. Together, they consider how artists and designers can shape AI and immersive media as tools that serve people and strengthen human experience.
Hoa Vo (Ph.D., NCIDQ) is an Assistant Professor of Interior Design and Principal Investigator (PI) of the Intelligent Perceptual Design (IPD) research team. Her research examines how artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) can be used to analyze and enhance human experience in the built environment, as well as how emerging technologies and digital tools shape design thinking, creativity, and design education. Her work has been recognized through several internal and external honors, including the 2025 Indiana University Presidential Arts and Humanities (IUPAH) Fellowship, the 2026 Trustee Teaching Award, the 2025 Amazon Research Awards Build on Trainium, and First Place for Best Presentation in Design Research at the 2026 Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Annual Conference.
Senior Lecturer and Digital Art Area Head in the Eskenazi School, Megan Young is a transmedia artist exploring the entanglements of technology and embodiment through interactive installations and experimental archives. Her socially engaged projects and curatorial work have garnered critical acclaim through features in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Hyperallergic, with exhibitions presented by the Chicago Cultural Center, Open Engagement, Armenia Art Fair, and the International Symposium on Electronic and Emerging Arts, among others. Her most recent project, The Carry Root, considers how technology impacts the way we tell stories—and how those stories reflect people, systems, and experiences.
Yaël Ksander is director of communications and marketing for the Indiana University Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. Previously, she served as director of communications and the mayor's spokesperson for the City of Bloomington, Indiana. Yaël is a regular host, producer, and narrator at Indiana Public Media and serves on the board of the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation.