Recently, a group of Irish designers and researchers conducted a study to see if technology could repair the relationship between citizens and local government. Their work revealed that a cleverly designed, communication-facilitating chatbot could increase faith in government.
Ressence Type 2 e-Crown Watch: iPhone designer Tony Fadell helped invent the first fully mechanical watch that sets itself automatically to the correct time. [Photo: Will Styer; Set designer: Vanessa Barrantes at Brydges Mackinney; photographed at Contra Studios]It’s a heartening demonstration of design’s ability to strengthen ties between citizens, government, and society—a real feat at a time when the world is witnessing all too clearly how seemingly smart design can also contribute to the erosion of democracy. The past decade has seen the rise of user-centered design, a philosophy that fetishizes ease of use to the point of ultimately granting users very little control over their technology experiences. It rose in tandem with mobile computing and enabled countless conveniences: We can now hail a car, order food, or transfer money with a few simple swipes. But the cost has been steep. In exchange for streamlined experiences, we’ve unwittingly relinquished our privacy and forfeited much of our direct human contact. We’ve even let social media algorithms shape our political discourse.
The future of design is about more than coddling users. It’s about giving them power over their technology.
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Suzanne LaBarre is the editor of Co.Design. Previously, she was the online content director of Popular Science and has written for the New York Times, the New York Observer, Newsday, I.DMore
