Transforming Grounds

For many years I have wanted to engage in research that is focused on the HCI aspects of large complex interactive systems. But, I have not really done that. Almost everyday I hear stories from family members and friends about their experiences with their office, company and industry software. These are people who work with interactive systems in healthcare, insurance companies, retail, etc. they usually describe systems that have the kind of issues that in contemporary HCI textbooks seem to belong in earlier decades. The field of HCI is almost fully devoted to the kind of interaction that goes on in our private lives and very little in our professional lives. I live myself in this situation. As an employee in a university, I have to use a number of large and complex systems that, from an HCI perspective, are extraordinary badly designed. As a field, we can, of course, blame the organizations and people who have the responsibility for these types of systems. And we tell them that the...

Well, now and then you stumble over a text that describes your understanding of the world in a way that both makes you happy to realize that what you experience is possible to express but also makes you quite sad when you realize how bad things are. I have been in academia most of my life and I truly love it. It is a wonderful world of exploration, learning and challenges. Since I was a little kid I wanted to become a professor, now I am one and has been it for a long time. The world I love is however not working the way it should or could. Christian Smith (professor of sociology at Notre Dame) has written a great article in the Chronicle of Higher Education called " Higher Education is drowning in BS ". Smith describes this world I love with all is deficiencies. The text resonates with my own reality.  [I hope you can access the text]. I am, as Smith also writes about himself, by working in the system, supporting the system. I have done well in this system. My career h...

I am very honored and happy to have been involved in a new edited book soon to be published by the MIT Press. The book " Critical Theory and Interaction Design " is edited by Jeffrey Bardzell, Shaowen Bardzell and Mark Blythe. Each chapter consists of a classic text from critical theory with a commentary from a scholar in the field of HCI.  I had personally the opportunity and pleasure of commenting on a chapter from Herbert Marcuse's book " One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society ". This is a book that I have read many times and that has influenced my thinking in many ways. I believe this new book to be an invaluable resource for graduate students in the field of HCI but also broader, such as STS, philosophy of technology, sociology, and more. Here is the presentation from MIT Press. ------------------------------------------------------------ Critical Theory and Interaction Design Edited by  Jeff...

I was randomly looking through my books today and the book "In Praise of Reason" by Michael P. Lynch was suddenly in my hands. I started to read it and realized that I had made a lot of underlining and comments in the book and remembered that I did write a book note about it. Looking at it now, it is clear that the message of the book is even more relevant and important today than in 2012 when I read it the first time. So, here are my notes from then. Book note: "In Praise of Reason" by Michael P. Lynch One of the most mundane activities that humans engage in is reasoning. We do it all the time. We try to find reasons for our own actions and for others (strange) behavior. At the same time, reasoning can be seen as the most advanced activity that humans engage in. Reasons are the intellectual tools we use to convince others about our own perspective or solution. According to Michael P. Lynch, our society is facing a serious problem related to this daily hu...

I really enjoyed reading an article by Rodney Brooks titled " The Seven Deadly Sins of AI Predictions ". It is refreshing to read a critical comment about the hype around AI and robotics. Brooks makes a serious attempt to argue against those who believe that AI and robotics will in a near future transform our society. Brooks argues that it will not. I agree with his general view of the slowness of technology development and even slower deployment into people's everyday lives. Read and reflect.

One of the books that have influenced me the most over the years is "T he Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age " (1994) by Sven Birkerts. I read it the first time when it was published and I have returned to it regularly since then. Birkerts takes on what he sees as a fundamental shift in the history of humans. The shift is caused by the introduction and spread of digital technology. His eloquent arguments and examples lead to disturbing questions and reflections concerning the role and impact of technology. I have always felt that Birkerts is right in his observations. In 2015, Birkerts published a new book filled with essays on the same topic and theme as in "The Gutenberg Elegies". I did buy the book when it came out but have not really read it until now. The title is " Changing the Subject: Art and attention in the internet age ". In this newer book, Birkerts returns to some of the fundamental issues he identifies with the wa...