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SpecialGuestX creates luxury objects for the age of ambient AI

SpecialGuestX, Delegate Thinking, Spain

US – Creative technology agency SpecialGuestX has unveiled a trio of experimental devices that merge luxury artefacts with personalised artificial intelligence and human intuition.

Delegate Thinking has been designed in collaboration with Spanish creative director and digital artist Isabel Martinez (Isabelita Virtual). The fully functioning devices combine onboard small language models with handcrafted art deco-inspired forms created in the workshop of jeweller Beatriz Palacios.

According to Miguel Espada, executive creative director at SpecialGuestX, the concept proposes ‘a new relationship with artificial intelligence’ in which AI produces signals rather than definitive answers.

‘Interpretation, and therefore decision, remains human,’ said Espada. ‘For luxury and fashion brands, the project points toward a new frontier in which AI is not some unimaginably powerful tool but as a material, something that can be held, worn, considered. An intelligence embedded in an object of desire.’ The project reflects a broader shift in how younger generations are connecting with their own intuition and points to a future where AI could become an emotional interface embedded into crafted objects.

In an age where humans consult machines in the decision-making process, the devices rely on the wearer's personal interpretation. Each device emits ’a signal you must decipher‘, allowing for a fluid and more feelings-led experience.

Delve into our Mood-matching Fashion report to explore how AI innovations are shifting toward emotional dialogue over pure functionality.

Strategic opportunity

Explore how artificial intelligence can be embedded into physical products, spaces or services to create emotionally resonant, collectible and culturally distinctive consumer experiences

Regeneration and systems-thinking take centre stage at Global Design Forum 2026

Turkey – Hosted in Istanbul from 13–16 May 2026, the inaugural Global Design Forum – organised in collaboration with People Places Ideas – brought together global perspectives under the theme Worlds in Contact.

A consistent idea emerged across talks and installations: regeneration. But rather than focusing on sustainable materials or product innovation alone, conversations turned to how design can build regenerative systems – supporting communities, preserving craft and creating long-term cultural and environmental resilience.

Regeneration as Resistance: writer, artist and technologist James Bridle set the tone, arguing that environmental crises are inseparable from social and political structures.

For Bridle, design’s role is not simply to innovate, but to challenge the extractive systems that created these crises in the first place. He pointed to his work developing local energy communities that democratise access to resources and foster collective responsibility for shared environments.

The Red Room, designed by NUN Architecture and People Places Ideas

Design as an Act of Community: Mexican designer Fernando Laposse extended this thinking into material practice. Working alongside indigenous farming communities in southern Mexico, Laposse turns to overlooked natural materials – sisal, loofah, corn leaves – to develop craft techniques that blend agricultural and creative knowledge. The result is not just new objects, but renewed livelihoods and traditional practices brought back into relevance.

Local Roots, Global Relevance: later sessions expanded toward the role of institutions in shaping cultural ecosystems. Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries, reflected on embedding culture into every layer of policy, highlighting that the city’s creative economy accounts for one in five jobs.

Cultural strategist and curator Beatrice Leanza urged designers to continually question who they are creating for and what long-term impact their work carries. It was architect and founder of Limbo Accra, Dominique Petit-Frère, who brought it into sharpest focus. She described the process of building a cultural design museum in Ghana room by room, which evolves in response to community need – and always with one eye on global relevance.

Strategic opportunity

The most durable design is no longer defined by the object, but by the system it sustains. Are you designing for communities – or with them?

Stat: Why Gen Z and Millennials are rejecting hustle culture

Wet Beast Office. Design by Studioninedots. Photography by Maarten Willemstein, The Netherlands

Global – Gen Z and Millennials are redefining career success by prioritising stability, sustainable workloads and long-term fit over rapid promotion cycles, according to the Deloitte Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey 2026.

More than half of Gen Z respondents (55%) and Millennials (52%) say they are delaying major life decisions due to ongoing financial pressures, signalling a wider recalibration of traditional timelines and ambitions.

Just 25% of Gen Zs and 21% of Millennials say they prefer fast-paced career progression marked by rapid promotions, while 44% favour steady professional growth instead.

The findings also reveal cautious optimism around AI. While both generations largely view the technology as an opportunity for growth and efficiency, many believe they are adapting to AI faster than their organisations.

As workplace behaviours continue to evolve, The Future Laboratory’s Future Work Personas report explores the emerging values, aspirations and expectations shaping future work ecosystems, helping businesses design more resilient, human-centred workforce strategies.

Strategic opportunity

As younger workers reject burnout culture and rapid-growth career models, brands and employers must redesign work around sustainability, adaptability and long-term wellbeing – from sustainable progression pathways and AI upskilling to benefits that support financial resilience and life stability