Human values and the future of technology: a declaration of empowerment

‘We must learn to balance the material wonders of technology with the spiritual demands of our human nature.” John Naisbitt (1982). We can make a difference in shaping the future by ensuring that computers “serve human needs (Mumford, 1934).” By making explicit the enduring values that we hold dear we can guide computer system designers and developers for the next decade, century, and thereafter After setting our high-level goals we can pursue the components and seek the participatory process for fulfilling them. High-level goals might include peace, excellent health care, adequate nutrition, accessible education, communication, freedom of expression, support for creative exploration, safety, and socially constructive entertainment. Computer technology can help attain these high-level goals if we clearly state measurable objectives, obtain participation of professionals, and design effective human-computer interfaces. Design considerations include adequate attention to individual differences among users, support of social and organizational structures, design for reliability and safety, provision of access by the elderly, handicapped, or illiterate, and appropriate user controlled adaptation. With suitable theories and empirical research we can achieve ease of learning, rapid performance, low error rates, and good retention over time, while preserving high subjective satisfaction. Pemission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and ita date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific perrnission. o 1990 ACM 089791~403-1190/0009/0001...$1.~0 To raise the consciousness of designers and achieve these goals, we must generate an international debate, stimulate discussions within organizations, and interact with other intellectual communities. This paper calls for a focus on the “you” and “I” in developing improved user interface (UI) research and systems, offers a Declaration of Empowerment, and proposes a Social Impact Statement for major computing projects.