the growth in hyperconnectivity carries with it both the benefits and the pressures of being connected “anywhere, anytime.”

toP: PhotograPh By ian forrester, Bottom: PhotograPhy courtesy of PhiliPs design

very visible transformations in our relationship to computers are leading many in HCI—including participants in the Seville workshop—to urge a radical rethinking of the underpinnings of HCI: its mission, goals, and philosophical approach, both for research and practice. In essence, the claim is that the interaction between values and technology needs to be much more carefully navigated than before. This is not a simple choice between designing for what is desirable as opposed to what is reprehensible; HCI specialists also need to be astutely aware of how one set of design choices might highlight certain values at the expense of others. In other words, values are not something that can be catalogued like books in a library but are bound to each other in complex weaves that, when tugged in one place, pull values elsewhere out of shape. Further, now more than ever, the diversity, scope, and complexity of the technologies that HCI deals with make tradeoffs between values a conundrum, not a platitude.

The reasons for this new complexity can be attributed in large part to the major transformations that have redefined our relationship with technology. Here we characterize five such transformations, each of which continues to alter the ways in which humans coexist with computers, interact with them, decide what problems to focus on, and pursue solutions.

The first transformation—the end of interface stability—has to do with how computers can no longer be defined by reference to a single interface but rather by many different interfaces or, alternatively, none at all. For example,

some computers encroach ever more deeply into our own personal spaces: we carry them, wear them, and may even have them implanted within us. Other forms of computers are disappearing into the richness and complexity of the world around us. They are increasingly embedded in everyday objects; not just toys, home appliances, and cars but also books, clothing, and furniture. And they are increasingly part of our environments, in public spaces such as airports, garages, and shopping malls as well as in the private spaces of homes and offices. In each case, where the interface might be, or even if there is an interface at all, is an open question. All of this has consequences for HCI. After all, the assumption that the locus of human-machine interaction is obvious (and hence can be observed, researched, and designed for) has been at the core of HCI since its foundation. If this is no longer the case, then what an interface might be, where it is, what it allows a user to do, and even whether there is one at all are now the issues that a future-looking HCI must address.

A second transformation, the growth of techno-dependency, refers to the fact that changes in how we live with and use technology have resulted in our becoming ever more reliant on it. There is of course no news in saying that society and individuals alike depend on a technological infra-

structure. But what is different about this transformation is that computational dependence is more complex, fraught with more snag points, and vulnerable to more forms of attack. It is not simply that we are increasingly using computers in routine but selected activities, such as to write reports or do our tax returns. Computing now underpins almost every aspect of our lives, from shopping to travel, from work to medicine. At the same time, computers are becoming ever more sophisticated and autonomous. As a result, not only is our reliance on them growing but computers themselves are increasingly reliant on each other. The extent of our need for computers—characterized by a wide diversity of technologies, an “ always-on” infrastructure, and an interconnected web of systems—creates new concerns, new design opportunities, and new research topics that specialists in HCI are obliged to address.

A third transformation is the growth in hyperconnectivity, the influential role of communication technologies in tying us together in ways that were unimaginable even as recently as 10 years ago. Despite the ability of such new tools to improve efficiency and save us time, such “digital presence” increasingly consumes our time rather than saves it. Communication devices are now filling our lives up instead of releasing us from burden. Yet hy-

 

the “interface” between humans and computers is harder than ever to define. We can interact with computers just by walking through a public space.