Ethical Persuasive Technology as a Cultural Force

Integrating the components of persuasive technology and technological mediation provide an effective framework for designers to create ethically responsible artifacts. This study will clarify the opportunities for valuable insight gained through understanding how digital environments influence society and culture.

Thesis Outline

Introduction

Lead in explanation/ my stance

Thesis (statement of purpose)

Place the work in context of the field/ current processes

Why this is important

 

Technological Mediation of Contemporary Life

Role of technological artifacts (Tripathi 2010)

1990s – Public/private & work/leisure boundaries blur (Fallman 2011)

2000s – early to mid – Westerners using technology only for work ceases

Formed interpretations & influence (Crilly et al. 2008)

Form & functionality

Perceived values & cultural association

Phenomenon of technological mediation (Berdichewsky 1999)

Persuasive technology & moral responsibility (Verbeek 2010)

Concept of technological mediation (Tripathi 2010)

Technological devices shape culture (Kaplan 2009)

Alter human activity patterns, influence lifestyles

Reliance to survive, prosper, coexist in society

Move toward a knowledge-intensive society (Lash 2002)

Knowledge, not material production, is the key

Alters how people work and play together

 

Issues Produced by Non-Neutrality of Technology

Defined: Use of particular technology mediates and transforms the nature of the experience (Ihde 1990)

Because: Laden with human, cultural and social values

To use, technologies need interpretation & embracement by users

Influential role in shaping future values and ethics

Currently neglected issues in the design field (Borgmann 2006)

Presence of artifacts (used or unused) alter behaviors

Type of human-artifact interactions: embodiment, hermeneutical, alterity

Correlation between ‘useful’ and ‘good’ is invalidated: what is useful is not always good (Fallman 2011)

Limitation of current processes (Crilly et al.)

Currently study usability and the user’s experiences

Limited to observable behaviors, with the artifact

‘User experience’ vs. overall experience – blurs (Fallman 2010)

 

Designer’s Role in Human-Computer Interaction

HCI’s Third Wave (Bødker 2006)

HCI Cultural shift to mobile computing (Farman 2012)

Positions users to engage with artifacts

Integrates technology design with cultural analysis, philosophy, values

Emphasis on designer’s role over user-focus (Bødker 2006)

Experiential guide for artifact development

Influence & emotion “insight into the meaning of things” (Aristotle)

“The medium is the message” symbiotic relationship of perception (McLuhan 1964)

Social implications of the medium (technology)

Changes society’s values, norms, way of doing things

Designer ethics defined (Verbeek 2009)

Ambient intelligence & persuasive technology

Social impact

Freedom & morality

Responsibility – designer vs. user

 

Phenomenology of Human Embodiment

Mobile Interface Theory (Farman 2012)

Embodied space and locative media

Changing the way we produce lived, embodied spaces

Everyday users come to embody their devices in significant ways (Idhe 1990)

People become dependent on artifacts, technology becomes invisible

Example typing email: bodily, conceptual, and perceptual habits (Rosenberger 2009a)

‘‘Technology is defined by a pattern or paradigm we have agreed to follow in dealing with reality’’ (Borgmann 2006)

Promise of modern technology

Lives improved through embodiment

Enriching user experience

 Embodiment denotes a form of participative status

“Given that our experiences of the world are our own, how can we achieve, between different individuals, a common experience of the world, and a shared framework for meaning?” (Shultz and Dourish 2001)

 

Persuasive Technology, an Ethical Framework

Applying moral reflection (Berdichewsky and Neuenschwander)

Interaction of persuader, persuasive technology, and persuaded person

View from contemporary philosophy of technology

Role of mediation theory

Technology persuasion as part of the phenomenon of technological mediation (Latour 1994)

Organize relationship between users and their environment

Role in shaping both human perceptions and actions

Moral/ethical aspect of persuasive technology

Phenomenon of technological mediation (Ihde)

Hermeneutic: (order of process) Perception >> interpretation >>

Pragmatic: (process continued) >> action >> principles

Designer responsibility – interaction with 3 elements below (Ihde and Selinger 2003)

Designer: delegates (implicit or explicit delegations)

User: appropriates (interpretation, interaction, behavior)

Technology: emerges

Moral/ethical analysis (assessing persuasive technologies)

Intended persuasions of the technology (is it justified?)

Methods of persuasion used (and morally acceptable mediation?)

Morally justified outcomes?

Designing is ‘ethics by other means’ (Verbeek 2006)

Perform a moral assessment of the nature, method, and consequences of the persuasions and mediations they are designing into a technology

Trust, Reliability, and the Distribution of Responsibility

 

Conclusion

Short summary

Questions that still remain

Moving forward…

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