Re-Design Technologies Within the Context of Social Technology

Proposal Summary

In today's digital age, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is deeply woven into our daily lives, but its ramifications remain complex and multifaceted. As the design industry has primarily driven AI's market integration, and often prioritized profit over societal benefit, the urgency for an alternative design framework intensifies. Emerging from the social sciences, the concept of "social technology" offers a more ethically grounded approach to design that may be particularly pertinent in our contemporary era. Our study aims to scrutinize the limitations inherent in popular systems-based design approaches, notably the vague delineation of system boundaries. We propose that social technologies can bridge this gap, offering an integrative design methodology that accounts for global implications while being sensitive to local context and cultural nuances. We showcase this through a case study that highlights design interventions enhancing the well-being of the elderly in China.

Introduction

Traditional design methodologies often prioritize hyper-targeted solutions aimed at individual needs, overlooking the broader social context and interconnectedness of societal systems. These approaches have fallen short in producing scalable, impactful solutions. While there is growing interest in examining the ethical implications of AI, such investigations often lack depth and reflection. We propose to critically assess existing design practices and compare them with the framework of Social Technologies[1], focusing on fundamental and philosophical differences. We apply these insights to address specific challenges faced by the elderly population in China. We will argue that an unreflective approach to systems-based design risks undermining the principles of social technologies. To substantiate this claim, we evaluate system mapping techniques within the context of social technologies, offering a more outcome-driven definition of technology.

Deign Status in The Recent Years

Design, intrinsically both a methodology and a tangible outcome, has been instrumental in shaping solutions to complex challenges. Originating from ambitions in the 1920s, it sought to establish a unique science, merging the comprehension of systems with the interplay of materials and their sociocultural implications. The digital era, especially with AI's emergence, has expanded design's boundaries, ushering in progressive philosophies like speculative design and circular design. However, despite these evolutions, an underlying concern persists. The core methods that designers employ often overlook deep societal integrations, leading to potential technological disconnects with social needs.

For a discipline that has always championed its human-centered ethos, this oversight presents a profound challenge. It's not just about selling "design thinking" as a catch-all solution or service. The design needs a moment of introspection to address and rectify the glaring gaps, contradictions, and inconsistencies embedded within its methodologies.

Embracing social technologies and refining our understanding of systems is essential. We plan to study how these social technologies, rooted deeply in societal needs and aspirations, can offer design a more holistic, grounded, and relevant approach. Moreover, we plan to create a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of systems, both in terms of design and their broader implications.

System Maps: Challenges and Opportunities

Our work will assess the use of system mapping as a method by grounding analysis in the framework of social technology, which defines technology in terms of its socially aware, outcome-driven nature. System mapping, when viewed through the lens of social technology, presents a fresh, holistic approach to understanding and influencing the myriad ways in which platforms, tools, and methods shape our social interactions, communications, and the evolution of networks. At its core, social technology embodies the confluence of human intellect, digital capabilities, and the tangible resources that collectively drive current social processes. This perspective of social technology offers a stark contrast to conventional design methodologies, which are often firmly grounded in catering to business or consumer needs. Notably, traditional designs, while being human-centric, tend to follow a path directed by market viability. In such processes, the broader human elements—people, assets, and resources—are frequently given a backseat. Their roles are predefined within system boundaries that are set methodologically by default. However, this conventional approach, though suitable for creating marketable tech solutions, falls short in addressing social challenges. The inherent biases and limitations of these traditional design methodologies need to be reconsidered for a more comprehensive understanding of 'human' and 'social' elements. We will show that social technology serves as a platform to scrutinize these methodological deficiencies and uncover novel design methods better attuned to understanding social systems.

Systems Boundaries and Mapping Methods

Human challenges, such as those faced by the elderly are rooted in systems. This recognition has given rise to the philosophical approach known as emergent design, complemented by emergent methods. Notably, systems mapping has become a prevalent method for diagnosing systemic problems. This transition underscores the growing sentiment that linear and narrow design models are ill-suited and even dismissive of today's complex issues. While this shift is commendable and necessary, it also underscores the importance of understanding the historical context of system mapping methods. Without this grounding and thoughtful reflection on the application of these methods, there's a potential risk of fostering biased AI-driven technologies. A fundamental gap lies in the comprehension of systems and their defined boundaries. The widespread embrace of system mapping is undeniable. However, challenges emerge when system mapping is employed to depict systems not inherently determined by nature, but instead crafted by profit-centric organizations. The crux of the issue lies in discerning the characteristics intrinsic to natural systems from those inherent in human-made systems, as each exhibits distinct traits. Our work will address such issues and will examine and contrast social and human systems with Nature-based systems.

[1]Social Technology: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Improving Care for the Elderly

Arthur Kleinman, Hongtu Chen, Sue Levkoff, Ann Forsyth, David Bloom, Winnie Yip, Conor J. Walsh, Tarun Khanna, Ellen Seely, Jun Jing, Tianshu Pan, Ning An, Zhenggang Bai, Qing Liu, and Fawwaz Habbal

Front Public Health 9: 729149, 2021, doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.729149