Because ubicomp is, by definition, present everywhere and at-all-times, it may either interfere or facilitate contextual actions, and hence change the ways in which we act upon and perceive the environment. For Greenfield, "we" –ubicomp designers– "are uniquely positioned to affect the emergence of this technological milieu for the better." We can partake in the paradigm shift from technologies that provide uncertainty, insecurity, and that violate privacy, to designing technologies that empower users, and that support ethical, social, and environmental well-being.

In 1991, Mark Weiser defined ubiquitous computing (which he also calls "embodied virtuality", as opposed to virtual reality) as invisible and indistinguishable from the "fabric of everyday life"; that is, from human behavior. Which is to say that ubiquitous computing aims at providing humane tools with which beings can continue dealing with their world in very much the same behavioral ways.