user experience in ubiquitous-computing

Date : November 16, 2010

In “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace: Some ethical guidelines for user experience in ubiquitous-computing settings,” Adam Greenfield (2004) delineated the fine line existing between: on the one hand, artifacts that neglect their users and the consequential impact of their dissemination in society; and, on the other hand, responsible, compassionate, and sensitive user-experience design that offers convivial products and services.

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.

It is my understanding that Greenfield’s aim is twofold: first, to encourage user experience designers to provide humane tools for society by copiously following a guideline that considers the social and environmental repercussions of man-made things; and second, to promote the application of ubiquitous systems as a practice that could empower users in their everyday actions.

source:
Greenfield, Adam. “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace: Some ethical guidelines for user experience in ubiquitous-computing settings.” (Published 2004/12/01) (Last visited November 2010)

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