“DESIGNING EQUITABLE FUTURES”
ABOUT
In early 2020, I analyzed a series of case studies of algorithmic bias within information and communication technologies (ICTs). The systems map submitted for this Faculty Showcase is a graphic visualization of one such case study. In this particular example, I investigated how a sociotechnical frame could be used as conceptual tool to surface bias in sociomaterial interactions between human and nonhuman actants in technologies.
This case involves a biased commercial risk prediction algorithm analyzed by Obermeyer et al. (2019). My analysis indicates that the focus of the developers was on the black boxed technology itself and lacked the sociotechnical system perspective needed to identify possible systemic barriers to healthcare. Yet this simple algorithm has tremendous power within the system. By visualizing the case as a complex, interconnected system, designers of ICTs can expand what is normally included in a stakeholder map and include other elements like nonhumans and paradigms. The future goal of this research is to test such mapping methods to determine if they help designers become more cognizant of the potential for bias in algorithmically-based technologies.
I synthesized some of the findings from this research in an article, “Designing Equitable Futures” which was just published in the most recent issue of dmi:Review. In addition, I gave a keynote presentation on the same topic at the Design Management Institute’s Diversity & Inclusion in Design Conference in June 2020.
My cross-disciplinary research interests focus on designing for equitable economies, strategizing processes that frame equity as an innovation driver, and developing inclusive design management pedagogy.
The premise of this current research project is that designers are not prepared to develop equitable business solutions because they do not adequately and intentionally address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their practices. How might designers use new frameworks or methods to facilitate collaboration among disparate groups when designing to infrastructure systemic equity? More broadly speaking, how might we connect equity-focused imperatives to design-led innovation? Leaders of design firms who are working towards equitable solutions face management challenges shared by all design firms, but they also grapple with additional challenges related to the intense, reflective work required to engage with ethics and equity in market-focused client relationships.
Following the case study analyses that I conducted in early 2020, I intended travel to design firms to conduct field work using design activities and interventions to test how we might embed ethical principles in design practices. Just as I was about to begin my site visits with these firms in March, the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders forced me to quickly shift my fieldwork to online participatory workshops to explore my research questions. After analyzing the initial results from these workshops, I will conduct more participatory online workshops with design leaders and practitioners through 2021.
