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.
