Rationalizing Inquiry Paths for Responsible Design in the Context of a Global Pandemic

Juan Salamanca,Molly Briggs

doi:10.4013/sdrj.2021.141.05

Abstract

The systemic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic amplified the effects of some social inequalities and revealed positive environmental effects associated with slowing the economy. In order to explore the repercussions of contagion prevention and community engagement initiatives such as deploying face masks and visualizing Covid-19 statistics, we resorted to an ethical model of Design for Responsible Innovation (DRI). This interactive model is useful for identifying, exploring, and describing analytical and generative paths of inquiry departing from, or arriving at, diverse matters of concern such as the impact of commodification and manufacturing in society and nature, the relativism of truth, the segregation of identities, and the reduction of agency. In this paper we argue that the human-centered perspective on design relies on a biased value system that either disfavors some social groups or disregards nonhuman living agencies, and we emphasize the analytical capacity of the model to chart and rationalize alternative inquiry paths. In consequence, future responsible design interventions would benefit from positioning life at center stage and embracing the relational and dependent nature of human beings from a posthuman perspective. To achieve this, research methods capable of handling human-nonhuman units of analysis and allowing the examination of systemic impact in complex systems are needed.

Highlights

In the months after the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in Wuhan, China, two major objectives emerged to drive global and local pandemic responses: maintain infected population numbers below local healthcare provider capacity, and achieve safe and sustainable therapeutics and mechanisms for immunity
As the virus continues to spread around the world, actors at all scales are responding to systemic impacts by taking design action
Designers have an opportunity to think more critically about how those value systems give shape to design interventions, and the public can benefit from understanding the extent to which design creations echo moral biases

Summary

Introduction

In the months after the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in Wuhan, China, two major objectives emerged to drive global and local pandemic responses: maintain infected population numbers below local healthcare provider capacity, and achieve safe and sustainable therapeutics and mechanisms for immunity. In the light of these challenges, we reflect on the impact and relevance of design actions for mobilizing opportunities to envision renewed futures. As the virus continues to spread around the world, actors at all scales are responding to systemic impacts by taking design action. The World Health Organization (WHO) designed strategic preparedness and response plans on the basis of early findings from outbreaks in China, Iran, and Europe (World Health Organization, 2020). Virologists and biologists are urgently designing rapid Covid-19 diagnosis techniques and mechanisms to train our immune systems to recognize and combat SARS-CoV-2 antigens. Epidemiologists design contagion models based on mobility restrictions and contact-tracing

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Conclusion