This project will develop methods for using historical understanding of technology to assess potential consequences of sociotechnical change and to inspire new design practices. Information technology (IT) builds on a longer history of technology tied to significant cultural shifts, commonly conceptualized as technological innovations driving societal progress. This research critically analyzes the idea of sociotechnical progress by asking: How is it conceptualized? What practices, values, and stakeholders become marginalized in the pursuit of progress, what are its consequences, and how can currently marginalized factors inspire new forms of design? It uses these questions to evaluate roles that IT has played in progress, and to envision and design for new roles it could play.
This project answers these questions through three case studies that look at societies on the global margin which have seized on technological progress as a means for bettering their circumstances. The case studies look at (1) a past attempt to rapidly transform from a subsistence, fishing-based to an industrialized economy in rural Newfoundland; (2) the consequences of a similar transformation in present Iceland, where pervasive adoption of information technology has transformed the small-boat fishing industry; and (3) debates over possible futures arising from the sudden and pervasive adoption of mobile phone technology in Jamaica. These novel case studies provide a new lens through which to understand the values embodied in information technology, its cultural impact, and their implications for practices in the field of human-computer interaction.
Methodologically, this work builds on design ethnography to demonstrate how historical methods can enrich the ability of work in human-computer interaction to address the broader cultural impacts of technology. By analyzing how the consequences of modernization compare with hopes invested in technology as a tool for progress, the project will provide evidence to support a more rigorous debate about the impact of information technologies. By using this analysis to generate new design insights, the project supports design practices that may improve the implications of technology, especially as productivity tools and means for advancing economic development.
