Social aspects of HCI Arguably, there are three broad aspects of H.C.I.: software interface...

Social aspects of HCI

Arguably, there are three broad aspects of H.C.I.:

software interfacecognitive issuese.g. do users understand the software?are users prepared to use the software?

ergonomicshardware issues

societal interactionsociety level issues

Analogy with the car - human-car interaction:cognitive

what does this thing do?how do I work the radio?

ergonomic?is it safe?can I reach the pedals?

socialare there too many cars?should we ban them altogether?should we build more roads?

SO, there are these 3 aspects to HCI.The HCI module has concentrated mainly on

aspect 1and rightly so – many problems remain

Today we argue for the importance of the third aspect and look briefly at some key issues in the social area.

We will propose three arguments for the importance of the social level.

argument 1 - the pervasiveness of the technology

Computers are an important feature of much of current day life in general and work in particular.

Some think we are living in an “information society” (e.g. Hornby & Clarke 2003)

EU research projects (IST)Internet has 606 million users (Halpin 2005)The total amount of computer power in the world

doubles every two years (Long and Long 2002)Because computer technology is so prevalent, it is

likely considerably to change the way we live and work, eg “teleworking”.

Indeed, some people talk of an “IT revolution” (eg Long and Long 2002).

argument 1 - the pervasiveness of the technology (continued)

The prevalence of computer technology raises ethical issues:

privacy of the individualeg DARPA – “total information awareness” -

http://www.darpa.mil/darpatech2002/presentations/iao_pdf/slides/poindexteriao.pdf

artificial intelligence - intelligent robots may soon surpass humans to such an extent that we become slaves to them, the intelligent machines may themselves have

legal rights (e.g. Penrose 1995, Whitby 1996).

Argument 2 – different theories

argument 2 - the field is a new and controversial one, with many contending theories, and it is important to raise awareness of the issues so that informed debate can be held about them

different theories:


optimistic approach leisured society in which repetitive work is a

thing of the pastindividualised education is available through

computer based learning much better medical provision (Shneiderman

2002)assistive technology (Shneiderman 2004)participatory democracy is made a reality

because of electronic voting GOW

“computopia”.


pessimistic approach surveillance of individuals along the lines of “big brother”

deskilling of the workforce or mass unemployment

existing inequalities, between and within nations will be exacerbated:

poorer countries will not be able to keep up with the ever-changing pace of change

within countries certain groups (e.g. females) may have unequal access to the technology and suffer materially as a result


For example the Internet: “the very features of the Internet that make it so effective as a human rights tool also enable it to be a destructive and hard-to-control force” (Hick and Halpin 2001 p. 69)


• technological determinism (Halpin 2005)technology is inevitable, brings societal

consequences in its wake

ten pin bowling analogy

• social context theory (Halpin 2005) IT one of several interacting forces

snooker analogy

Argument 3 – practical importance

argument 3 – the study of HCI at the societal level can be of direct practical importance for people involved with the design, implementation and management of computer systems.


a) The debate between technological determinism and social context theory is important, arguably, for systems practice:

if you accept the former (TD) will worry only about the technology

if you accept the latter, will worry about a wider range of issues, eg trades unions, working and social relationships;

every project has political dimensions GOW

may adopt a participatory approach


b) We will be looking at the potential benefits, and the potential drawbacks, of computer technology at the societal level.

We argue that, as a practical point, people working with computer systems need to be aware of these potential benefits and drawbacks, and thus enabled to design and manage these systems with a view to maximising the former and minimising the latter.


It follows that we are arguing that neither the optimistic approach nor the pessimistic approach are necessarily accurate, but rather:

“we have made this Computer Age that is making us...and...in itself it is neither good nor evil: it is what we make it” (Radlow 1995).

It also follows that an awareness of the potential benefits and drawbacks is of great practical importance.

Potential benefits of IT to society

productivity enhancement

or is there? –

the “productivity paradox”


• quality improvement– of work– of quality of service

• individual opportunity– eg use the Internet– the Internet as the “library of world

knowledge” (cf. Muddiman 1998)• exploration

– eg hypermedia– knowledge mining


• learningevery student has his or her own Aristotle

• entertainmenteg digital TVeg debate re computer gamessee extract from Hobbs and Moore (1998):The case of computer games, though, is further evidence of the controversies that surround the area.

Some argue that such games are harmful - they encourage children to be violent and to engage in solitary indoor play rather than playing with others in the fresh air; it is also sometimes argued that the games portray an unacceptable model of sexual stereotyping, depicting a brave male rescuing a hapless princess. Others take a more positive view of video games. They argue that the games demand considerable dexterity, skill and mental processing power. They are also seen as actually helping some people to relate to others, in that more studious children, who may previously have been isolated, may gain some credibility with their peers because of their knowledge of the game


• co-operation– CSCW– computer conferencing– “The Internet has become a key tool in

campaigning for human rights” (Halpin 2001, p. 57)

– Canadian foreign minister: “the mouse is mightier than the missile” (quoted in Hick et al, 2000).


• enabling new skills– eg disabled people– The Skallagrig (novel)

• safety– eg disarming mines

• managing complexity

• reliability

• security

Potential drawbacks of IT

• anxiety - “computer phobia” ; – the challenge to designers is to build

systems that encourage people to feel confident with computers; many of the suggestions and guidelines from the HCI module, eg user support material may help here.


• alienation - the concern here is that as people spend more time working with computers they will engage in less human interaction; GOW

concern for the autism research, maybe

cyber-bullies (York Press, 19/11/09)

the design challenge is to build systems that encourage constructive interaction, eg CSCW, email, computer conferencing.


information-poor minority - Shneiderman (2004) “often computers are just another way in which the disadvantaged are disadvantaged”.

within a country - impoverished access to

computers, perhaps because of class or gender

e.g. Halpin (2005): “the Internet has a gender and racial bias” (p. 35)


• between countries, eg “third world” countries find it difficult to afford to keep pace with changing technology and have to make do with “trailing edge technology” (eg Adams and McCrindle 2008). GOW

– “digital divide”

Even within Leeds – see research reflection 28/1/05 (Sukky Jassi)

• On the other hand – “Internet cafes can be found even in the most remote parts of Nepal” (Halpin 2005, p. 33)

• Similarly: (extract from ASEE's International Engineering Education Digest - March 2005):“The Economist (March 12-18 2005) [argues that] encouraging the

spread of mobile phones is the most sensible and effective response to the digital divide. … Evidence suggest that the mobile phone is the technology with the greatest impact on development, raising long-term growth rates … Mobile phones - unlike computers - do not rely on permanent electricity and can be used by people who cannot read and write. And a new report from the World Bank indicates that 77% of the world's population already lives within range of a mobile network.”


• organisational fragility – The challenge is to produce robust and

readily understandable and maintainable designs.

• invasion of privacy – a particular concern is that information

gathered for one purpose may be used for another.


unemployment –

some people argue that the use of modern technology will lead to mass unemployment, with most if not all work being done by the machines.

Think, maybe, of the 2004 budget

Others argue that IT developments will not lead to mass unemployment.


An interesting example of the debate is centred around artificial intelligence (AI); see Turban and Aronson (2001) for an interesting discussion (and bear in mind that many, if not all, the arguments may apply to computer technology in general as well as AI in particular).


• One line of argument is that AI will lead to massive unemployment:– will affect both blue and white collar

employees– current trends of increasing unemployment

are indicative of the future problem– there is much “hidden unemployment”


• Others, however, argue that AI will in fact lead to more employment:– historical trends – unemployment is worse in non-industrialised

countries– many tasks cannot be fully automated (e.g.

top management, nursing) and will never therefore be lost to the new technologies.


• A different line of argument is to ask whether it would matter if all jobs were taken over by machine. Since the wealth would still be being created no-one need be any worse off. Rather, people could spend their time in pursuits they find interesting instead of having to carry out perhaps monotonous and tedious work. – The challenge would be to find a way of

distributing the wealth which did not rely on people having paid employment.


• deskilling – the worry is that ultimately human skills will be lost

to the technology and will not be able to be recovered;

– this is often seen as a potential problem with expert system technology.

• control - the concern here is with the extent to which we can control the technology and its effects on our lives

– eg pornography on the Internet

• computer crime

Possible remedies

• human-centred design• organisational support • job design • education - arguably, education in two forms can help

to overcome some of the problems discussed in the previous section:

– a general education, encouraging people to become independent and questioning learners, may help people become more able to cope with change

– also - education for helping people make better use of leisure

– further - education concerning information technology in particular.

Possible remedies (2)

• feedback and rewards • public consciousness raising • codes of practice

– e.g. BCS - http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6030 [accessed 4.3.08]

– ACM - http://www.acm.org/about/code-of-ethics [accessed 4.3.08]

• legislation GOW

– eg Data Protection Act

http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6030

http://www.acm.org/about/code-of-ethics

Summary

• Have looked at some complex issues.• The relevance of social impact concerns to IT

professionals is clear:– Every project has political dimensions; no new

technology, system or interface enters a value-neutral void. The designer needs therefore to be aware of the constraints and possibilities offered by the existing situation when seeking to implement a new system.

– Conversely, perhaps, the designer should be wary of the danger of “technical oversights” (Long and Long 2002) - the designer has a responsibility to keep abreast of new technological developments and to apply then thoughtfully to the existing arrangements.

Summary

• Further, there is a need for public debate about the benefits and risks of the new technologies, and the designer has a duty to inform that debate.

• The designer of interactive systems has therefore much responsibility.

• The essential challenge is to design in such a way as to achieve the benefits whilst reducing the risks.

• This is a non-trivial, but potentially very important, task.

• References• Adams A, McCrindle R (2008) Pandora’s box: Social and Professional Issues of the Information Age. Wiley• Gelepithis P (1999) AI and Human Society; AI & Society 13: 312-321• Halpin E (2005) The Internet and Human Rights Organisations. PhD thesis, Leeds Metropolitan University• Halpin E (2001) The use of ICT, especially the Internet, for the promotion and protection of human rights. In Barnhizer D (ed.) Effective

strategies for protecting human rights. Ashgate, Aldershot• Hick S & Halpin E (2001) Children’s rights and the Internet. ANNALS of the American Academmy of Political and Social Science, May

2001 p. 56-70• Hick S, Halpin E, Hoskins E (2000) Human Rights and the Internet. Macmillan: New York• Hobbs and Moore (1998) HCI; Pitman• Hornby S & Clarke Z (ed) (2003) Challenge and Change in the Information Society. Facet; Susan and Zoe Clarke, editors• Long L, Long N (2002) Computers; Prentice Hall• Moore D, Cheng Y, McGrath P, Powell NP (2004) Collaborative virtual environment technology for people with autism. Focus on Autism

20, 231-243.• Muddiman, D.J. (1998) ‘The Universal Library as Modern Utopia: the Information Society of H.G. Wells’ Library History, 14(2), pp.85 -102• Parsons S, Mitchell P (2002) The potential of virtual reality in social skills training for people with autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of

Intellectual Disability Research 46(5) pp. 430-443.• Penrose R (1995) Shadows of the Mind, A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness; Vintage• Radlow J (1995) Computers and the Information Society; Boyd and Fraser Publishing Company• Russell S and Norvig P (2003) Artificial Intelligence. Pearson• Shneiderman B (2004) Designing the User Interface; Addison-Wesley• Shneiderman B (2002) Leonard’s Laptop; Addison-Wesley• Turban and Aronson (2001) Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems; Macmillan• Whitby B (1996) Reflections on Artificial Intelligence, The Legal, Moral and Ethical Dimensions; Intellect Books

Social aspects of HCI Arguably, there are three broad aspects of H.C.I.: software interface...

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