Ideas worth
arguing about.
Provocations, essays, conversations and research on technology, people, organisations and society.
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Technology Changes What Becomes Possible
Technology does more than help us accomplish what we already want to do. It changes what we can imagine, how we organise our lives and which futures become available to us. When we think about technological progress, we tend to think about new capabilities. Machines become faster, computers become more powerful, and artificial intelligence takes…
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Efficiency Is a Value. It Isn’t the Only Value.
Technology allows us to do more with less. But if efficiency becomes the measure of everything, we risk losing sight of what we are trying to achieve. Efficiency is one of the most persuasive arguments for technological progress. When a new technology allows us to accomplish something faster, more accurately or with fewer resources, we…
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Designing for Difference as a Source of Innovation
Human difference is usually treated as something design must accommodate. But what if it is also one of the most valuable resources we have for imagining what comes next? Innovation often begins with an attempt to solve a problem. A company wants to develop a better product, a public institution needs to improve a service,…
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The Average Human Doesn’t Exist
We design products, services and technologies for people. But which people are we actually designing for? Imagine that you are designing a door for the average person. You begin by calculating the average height, reach and physical strength of the people who are expected to use it. Based on these measurements, you determine the position…
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Not Everything That Can Be Automated Should Be Automated
The question is no longer just what technology can do for us. It is what we want technology to make possible. We have become remarkably good at asking what technology can do. Artificial intelligence can write reports, analyse information, answer questions and support decisions that previously required considerable human effort. Algorithms can process enormous amounts…