Driving towards inclusion: Using a service design framework to investigate technology-induced inequalities

Abstract

Technological growth is realizing an ever more intelligent and convenient future. However, is this future equal, and what role does service design play in addressing, or exacerbating, these inequalities? The relationship between technology and inequality is fluid, moving from the elimination of existing inequalities to the creation of new ones, and service design has the potential to impact this bidirectional relationship. On the other hand, the current literature fails to clearly identify service design’s contribution to the technology-inequality-design nexus. This paper develops a framework to do so. Drawing on the four dimensions of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) 4 model, this paper uses double diamond design process and methods, including user journey, problem framing, and prototyping, etc. to propose a novel framework incorporating four dimensions of service design and their links to inequality. The framework is then demonstrated through an application to autonomous vehicle technology. More broadly, the framework can be used by service designers and practitioners to identify different dimensions of hidden inequality within service design.