Human-technology Relations Research Articles

Exploring ambivalent oxygen machine–people–world relations through the lens of postphenomenology

Technologies for medicinal oxygen delivery at home are increasingly part of the global health technology landscape in the face of rising rates of chronic lung and heart diseases. From the mere notion of harvesting and privatizing oxygen from the atmosphere to its status as both dangerous and therapeutic, and finally to its capacity to both extend and limit life, oxygen as therapy materializes its status as an ambivalent object in global health. This analysis of ethnographic material from Uruguay and South Africa on the experience of home oxygen therapy is guided by philosopher Don Ihde’s postphenomenology – a pragmatic philosophical approach for analysing the relationships between humans and technologies. Participants related to their oxygen devices as limiting-enablers, as markers of illness and measures of recovery, and as precious and limited resources. Oxygen was materialized in many forms, each with their own characteristics shaping the ‘amplification/reduction’ character of the relationship as well as the degree to which the devices became ‘transparent’ to their users. Ihde’s four types of human–technology relations – embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity and background relations – are at play in the multistability of oxygen. Importantly, the lack of technological ‘transparency’, in Ihde’s sense of the term, reflects not only the materiality of oxygen but inequality too. While postphenomenology adds a productive material and technological flavour to phenomenology, the author argues that a critical postphenomenology is needed to engage with the political-economy of human–oxygen technology relations.

Can the technological mediation approach improve technology assessment? A critical view from ‘within’

ABSTRACTThe technological mediation approach aspires to complement current Technology Assessment (TA) practices. It aims to do so by addressing ethical concerns from ‘within’ human-technology relations leading to ethical Constructive Technology Assessment (eCTA), as articulated by Kiran, Asle H., Nelly Oudshoorn, and Peter-Paul Verbeek in their 2015 article. In this paper, we problematize this ambition. Firstly, we situate the technological mediation approach in the history of TA. Secondly, as a study into the normativity from ‘within’ human-technology relations, we reveal the phenomenological and existential origins of Verbeek's technological mediation approach. Thirdly, we show that there are two possible readings of this approach: a strong and a weak one. The weak reading can augment current TA practices but is eventually uncommitted to the idea of technological mediation. The strong reading defines a wholly new scope for our engagement with (emerging) technologies but is incompatible with existing TA approaches.

Putting to (information) work: A Stengersian perspective on how information technologies and people influence information practices

ABSTRACTInstead of merely subscribing to an unspecific inseparability in the co-constitution or mangle of information technologies and human-actors, there is a need for conceptual tools to describe and explicate the mechanics of how the enmeshment of technologies and human-beings is occurring in information contexts: how information technologies are both setting standards of the social conduct of information practices, and how people are using information technologies to regulate the social process. Building on an empirical study of human-technology relations in the context of archaeological information work, this article discusses how the imaginary of putting Stengers to work can make a contribution to such an end. Stengers describes an ideal system of human-actors and technology working seamlessly —World-as-Clock—that is unattainable but can serve as a benchmark and a lens for understanding frictions and discrepancies in the cohesion of the two.

“Well-Behaved Robots Rarely Make History”: Coactive Technologies and Partner Relations

Technologies equipped with artificial intelligence and an agency of their own are becoming increasingly available to consumers. Rather than just augmenting human senses or mediating information, these coactive technologies are mobile, pro-active, context-sensitive, programmable, and agential in the milieu of the user. This paper illustrates a humanistic human–computer interaction (HCI) approach to coactive technologies by analyzing the artificial intelligence (AI) powered robot Cozmo. The analysis demonstrates how Cozmo: 1) remediates fictional characteristics to appear more familiar, emotional, and lovable; 2) is both pre-programmed and programmable, creating an interesting tension in its agential spectrum; and 3) is discursively marketed as a cunning, emotional, and non-machinic accomplice. Referring to established models of human–technology relations, the paper introduces the concept of partner relations, where a coactive human–machine intentionality is negotiated. The paper also discusses potential implications for designers, who must focus on the multitude of partner relations and joint intentionalities that new coactive technologies can engender.

How Stone Tools Shaped Us: Post-Phenomenology and Material Engagement Theory

The domain of early hominin stone tool making and tool using abilities has received little scholarly attention in mainstream philosophy of technology. This is despite the fact that archeological evidence of stone tools is widely seen today as a crucial source of information about the evolution of human cognition. There is a considerable archeological literature on the cognitive dimensions of specific hominin technical activities. However, within archeology and the study of human evolution the standard perception is stone tools are mere products of the human mind (or brain or innate cognitive capacities). A number of recent approaches to cognition challenges this simplistic one-way-causal-arrow view and emphasizes instead the functional efficiency of tools or artifacts in transforming and augmenting human (or hominin) cognitive capacities. As a result, the very idea that tools or artifacts are intimately tied to human cognitive processes is fast becoming an alternative within the cognitive sciences and a few allied disciplines. The present study intends to explore its implications for philosophy of technology. The central objective of this paper is to examine the dynamic and intricate tool-mediated activities of the early hominins through the lens of Don Ihde’s post-phenomenological theory of human-technology relations and Lambros Malafouris’ Material Engagement Theory. Highlighting the key points where these two research approaches, despite their subtle nuances, converge and look capable of mutually catalyzing each other, the paper attempts to show why it is important to bring these approaches together for a more refined understanding of the controversial role these stone tools played in human evolution.

When My Voice is not My Voice: Speaking through a Speech Generating Device

A speech-generating device (SGD) is not a thing that many people have experienced. For thosewith severe speech impairments, however, it may be a technology giving them voice and anintegral part of their daily lives. What is it like to have an embodiment relation with SGD? Thisarticle draws upon Don Ihde’s insights regarding human-technology relations to explore howSGDs may act to mediate and condition the everyday lives of children and youth with speechimpairments.

Skillful coping with and through technologies

Dreyfus’s work is widely known for its critique of artificial intelligence and still stands as an example of how to do excellent philosophical work that is at the same time relevant to contemporary technological and scientific developments. But for philosophers of technology, especially for those sympathetic to using Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Wittgenstein as sources of inspiration, it has much more to offer. This paper outlines Dreyfus’s account of skillful coping and critically evaluates its potential for thinking about technology. First, it is argued that his account of skillful coping can be developed into a general view about handling technology which gives due attention to know-how/implicit knowledge and embodiment. Then a number of outstanding challenges are identified that are difficult to cope with if one remains entirely within the world of Dreyfus’s writings. They concern (1) questions regarding other conceptualizations of technology and human–technology relations, (2) issues concerning how to conceptualize the social and the relation between skill, meaning, and practices, and (3) the question about the ethical and political implications of his view, including how virtue and skill are related. Acknowledging some known discussions about Dreyfus’s work, but also drawing on other material and on the author’s previous writings, the paper suggests that to address these challenges and develop the account of skillful coping into a wider scoped, Dreyfus-inspired philosophy of technology, it could take more distance from Heidegger’s conceptions of technology and benefit from (more) engagement with work in postphenomenology (Ihde), pragmatism (Dewey), the later Wittgenstein, and virtue ethics.

Hegel, the Struggle for Recognition, and Robots

While the mediational theories of Don Ihde and Peter-Paul Verbeek have helped to uncover the role that technologies play in ethical life, the role that technologies play in political life has received far less attention. In order to fill in this gap, I turn to the mediational theory of Hegel. Hegel shows how understanding the mediated nature of experience is vital to understanding the development of political life. Through examples found in the military, in particular concerning the relationship between explosive ordnance detonation (EOD) soldiers and robots, I illustrate how Hegel’s analysis of the “struggle for recognition” can be used to understand human-technology relations from a political perspective. This political perspective can consequently help us to appreciate how technologies come to have a role in political life through our ability to experience solidarity with technology. Solidarity is experienced by users due to the recognition of technologies as serving roles in society that I describe as functionally equivalent to the social roles of the user. The realization of this functional equivalence allows users to learn how they are perceived and respected by society through the experience of how functionally equivalent technologies are perceived and respected. I conclude by focusing on the importance of understanding functional equivalence in design, as well as in the case of the Dallas Police Department having turned an EOD robot from a life-saving to a life-taking device. These examples show why Hegel is necessary for helping us to understand the political significance of recognizing and of misrecognizing technologies.

Technology and Self-modification: Understanding Technologies of the Self After Foucault

Self-modification is an ancient human practice; however, for the first time in history, technology is enabling us to modify our lives not only at an existential or experiential level, but also at an informational level. This paper discusses Foucault’s concept of “technologies of the self” as well as some of its recent interpretations within contemporary philosophy of technology. It shows how ICTs have opened new dimensions for humans to transform their bodies, minds, and self-conception. It argues that while ‘traditional’ self-modification is being revolutionised and popularised by ICTs, these systems are also exposing us to potent, and unintentional forms of ontological tinkering. Ultimately, this paper shows how Foucault’s concept can serve as a valuable tool for understanding contemporary human-technology relations.

What the Jeweller\u2019s Hand Tells the Jeweller\u2019s Brain: Tool Use, Creativity and Embodied Cognition

The notion that human activity can be characterised in terms of dynamic systems is a well-established alternative to motor schema approaches. Key to a dynamic systems approach is the idea that a system seeks to achieve stable states in the face of perturbation. While such an approach can apply to physical activity, it can be challenging to accept that dynamic systems also describe cognitive activity. In this paper, we argue that creativity, which could be construed as a ‘cognitive’ activity par excellence, arises from the dynamic systems involved in jewellery making. Knowing whether an action has been completed to a ‘good’ standard is a significant issue in considering acts in creative disciplines. When making a piece of jewellery, there a several criteria which can define ‘good’. These are not only the aesthetics of the finished piece but also the impact of earlier actions on subsequent ones. This suggests that the manner in which an action is coordinated is influenced by the criteria by which the product is judged. We see these criteria as indicating states for the system, e.g. in terms of a space of ‘good’ outcomes and a complementary space of ‘bad’ outcomes. The skill of the craftworker is to navigate this space of available states in such a way as to minimise risk, effort and other costs and maximise benefit and quality of the outcome. In terms of postphenomonology, this paper explores Ihde’s human-technology relations and relates these to the concepts developed here.

Automation and human relations with the private vehicle: from automobiles to autonomous cars

This article theorises interactions between drivers, cars and their surroundings. It uses Don Ihde’s four human–technology relations – embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity and background – to analyse the ways in which human–car relationships develop through the process of driving. When driving non-autonomous cars, humans are engaged with cars in driver–car assemblages, within which they are aware of not only the car and how they control its movement but also the road and environmental conditions conveyed through the car. In autonomous and semi-autonomous cars, the connection between driver and car, process of driving and surrounding environment is disrupted. This may be regarded as a positive change, freeing drivers from the work of driving to enjoy rest and entertainment as they become passengers; however, as the car moves into a background relation with people inside the vehicle, it can become difficult for a human to take back control of the driving process with little warning.

Hybrid bodies and the materiality of everyday life: how people living with pacemakers and defibrillators reinvent everyday routines and intimate relations.

Technologies inside bodies pose new challenges in a technological culture. For people with pacemakers and defibrillators, activities such as passing security controls at airports, using electromagnetic machines, electrical domestic appliances and electronic devices, and even intimate contacts with their loved ones can turn into events where the proper functioning of their device may be at risk. Anticipation of potentially harmful events and situations thus becomes an important part of the choreography of everyday life. Technologies inside bodies not only pose a challenge for patients living with these devices but also to theorising body-technology relations. Whereas researchers usually address the merging of bodies and technologies, implants ask us to do the opposite as well. How are we to understand human-technology relations in which technologies should not entangle with bodies because they serve other purposes? Based on a study of the daily life practices of people with pacemakers and defibrillators in the Netherlands and the US, I argue that disentanglement work, i.e. work involved to prevent entanglements with objects and people that may inflict harm upon implanted devices, is key to understanding how hybrid bodies can survive in today's densely populated technological landscape.

Character of Contemporary Culture

Technology has captured the character of contemporary culture. We have become used to appropriate our world through consumption rather than excellence. Informational citizenship would be a kind of excellence. Consumption is procured by business. We are divided in our relation to reality, aspiring to excellence and finding ourselves to be consumers. The feelings of liberation and enrichment quickly fade; the new devices lose their glamour and blend into the conspicuous periphery of normalcy; boredom replaces exhilaration. This article is divided into three sections: in the first section, background on technology and hermeneutics is introduced, whereas in the second section, the ‘technology is a cultural instrument’ is discussed. I end this article by elaborating the intricacies of human–technology relations in a technological culture.

Can Machines Create Art?

As machines take over more tasks previously done by humans, artistic creation is also considered as a candidate to be automated. But, can machines create art? This paper offers a conceptual framework for a philosophical discussion of this question regarding the status of machine art and machine creativity. It breaks the main question down in three sub-questions, and then analyses each question in order to arrive at more precise problems with regard to machine art and machine creativity: What is art creation? What do we mean by art? And, what do we mean by machines create art? This then provides criteria we can use to discuss the main question in relation to particular cases. In the course of the analysis, the paper engages with theory in aesthetics, refers to literature on computational creativity, and contributes to the philosophy of technology and philosophical anthropology by reflecting on the role of technology in art creation. It is shown that the distinctions between process versus outcome criteria and subjective versus objective criteria of creativity are unstable. It is also argued that we should consider non-human forms of creativity, and not only cases where either humans or machines create art but also collaborations between humans and machines, which makes us reflect on human-technology relations. Finally, the paper questions the very approach that seeks criteria and suggests that the artistic status of machines may be shown and revealed in the human/non-human encounter before any theorizing or agreement takes place; an experience which then is presupposed when we theorize. This hints at a more general model of what happens in artistic perception and engagement as a hybrid human-technological and emergent or even poetic process, a model which leaves more room for letting ourselves be surprised by creativity—human and perhaps non-human.

Notes on a Nonfoundational Phenomenology of Technology

The emerging school of thought called “postphenomenology” offers a distinct understanding of the ways that people experience technology usage. This perspective combines insights from the philosophical tradition of phenomenology with commitments to the anti-essentialism and nonfoundationalism of American pragmatism. One of postphenomenology’s central positions is that technologies always remain “multistable,” i.e., subject to different uses and meanings. But I suggest that as this perspective matures, philosophical problems are emerging around the notion of multistability, what I call “the problem of invariance” and “the problem of grounding.” These problems point out things that remain unclear within the postphenomenological framework, such as how it handles structural claims regarding a technology’s various stabilities, and how it grounds its claims. How can postphenomenology make structural claims about technology and yet remain anti-essentializing? And on what epistemological basis does it ground its claims about human-technology relations? The paper concludes with a series of prescriptions that, if followed, enable postphenomenology to make edifying claims about technology, all while avoiding the problems of invariance and grounding, and maintaining its commitments to anti-essentialism and nonfoundationalism.

Design, Mediation, and the Posthuman ed. by Dennis M. Weiss, Amy D. Propen, and Colbey Emmerson Reid (review)

Reviewed by: Design, Mediation, and the Posthuman ed. by Dennis M. Weiss, Amy D. Propen, and Colbey Emmerson Reid Gavin Rae (bio) Design, Mediation, and the Posthuman. Edited by Dennis M. Weiss, Amy D. Propen, and Colbey Emmerson Reid. New York: Lexington Books, 2014. Pp. 326. $100/ebook $99.99. Interest in, and discussions of, the posthuman dominate contemporary thinking across a range of disciplines. By calling into question the nature and structure of the conceptual categories that structure thought in many areas, defenders of posthumanism have argued that “it” liberates us from the repressive thought processes associated with humanism and corrects previous misunderstandings of the structure of reality, including the relationship between humans and their environment. The problem that has arisen, however, is that by occurring across multiple disciplines, being oriented around different problematics, and employing different methodologies, the notion of the posthuman has become blurred to the extent that it is better and more accurate to talk of posthumanisms. In this spirit, Design, Mediation, and the Posthuman collects thirteen articles from “fourteen authors from twelve institutions, six disciplines, and three continents” (p. vii) to discuss the nature of the posthuman as it relates to or is mediated through contemporary technologies and literary theory. The multidisciplinary and multicultural backgrounds of the contributors create a diverse mix of chapters that highlight the contestation inherent to the concept of the posthuman. The collection starts with an [End Page 283] introduction setting out the problematic to be addressed, namely the complexity of the relationship between “technology, design, and human users” (p. vii). To do so, it suggests that contemporary thinking on the posthuman responds to a debate as to whether minds or material things are to be privileged. This is, of course, an ancient debate, but this book suggests that what is unique about the contemporary one is the crucial role that new technologies, specifically computer technologies, play in human existence. Placing the debate within a historical context, the introductory essay argues that, while the 1990s saw a plethora of theorists affirm the importance of the mind and virtual reality, the early 2000s entailed a return to materiality (p. x). Posthumanism contributes to this because it offers a new conceptual and historical analysis that (1) breaks with the binary oppositions that previously dominated thought to focus on the interrelational entwinement between minds and things, while doing so (2) with specific reference to new computer technologies to bring to the fore the new relationships and structures that are specific to contemporary existence. The essays are varied, but each focuses on showing the interrelationship of technologies, things, and humans. The essays are grouped around three themes, with each preceded by a summary section from the editors that not only brings into focus the theme to be discussed, but also provides a helpful summary of what is to come. The articles in the first section by Anthony Miccoli, Amy Propen, Elise Takehana, and John Tinnell examine the notion of mediation by engaging with the different ways in which technology mediates the human–world relationship. Those in the second section, by Jonathan Rey Lee, Emily Mc-Arthur, Colbey Reid, and Yoni Van Den Eede, focus on the “thing” aspect by examining the meaning and influence of LEGO, Siri, the relationship between interior design and disability, and self-tracking technologies for the human–world relation. The final section looks to the impact that the posthuman has on the “users” of technology by examining historical conceptions of the posthuman (Kristie Fleckenstein and Josh Mehler), the relationship between posthumanism and cynicism (Matthew Levy), human–technology relations (Dennis Weiss), and the construction of the self from video games (Brendan Keogh) and Lars von Trier’s 2011 film Melancholia (Nicola Merola). The result is an eclectic mix that brings to the fore the multidimensional and contested nature of the posthuman. While a concluding section would have tied the book together, as it stands, it is an original contribution that will be of interest to those exploring the human–world relationship and, in particular, the ways that the technological and literary imbue contemporary discussions of the posthuman. [End Page 284] Gavin Rae Gavin Rae is Conex Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow...

An Interdisciplinary Approach on the Mediating Character of Technologies for Recognizing Human Activity

In this paper, we introduce a research project on investigating the relation of computers and humans in the field of wearable activity recognition. We use an interdisciplinary approach, combining general philosophical assumptions on the mediating character of technology with the current computer science design practice. Wearable activity recognition is about computer systems which automatically detect human actions. Of special relevance for our research project are applications using wearable activity recognition for self-tracking and self-reflection, for instance by tracking personal activity data like sports. We assume that activity recognition is providing a new perspective on human actions; this perspective is mediated by the recognition process, which includes the recognition models and algorithms chosen by the designer, and the visualization to the user. We analyze this mediating character with two concepts which are both based on phenomenological thoughts namely first Peter-Paul Verbeek’s theory on human-technology relations and second the ideas of embodied interaction. Embedded in the concepts is a direction which leads to the role of technical design in how technology mediates. Regarding this direction, we discuss two case studies, both in the possible using practice of self-tracking and the design practice. This paper ends with prospects towards a better design, how the technologies should be designed to support self-reflection in a valuable and responsible way.

Hacking Technological Practices and the Vulnerability of the Modern Hero

This reply to Gunkel and Zwart further reflects on, and responds to, the following main points: the Heideggerian character of my view and the potential link to Kafka (Gunkel), the suggestion that we should become hackers (Gunkel), the interpretation of my approach in terms of the Hegelian Master–Slave dialectic (Zwart), the lack of an empirical dimension (Zwart), and the claim that I think that modern heroism entails overcoming vulnerability (Zwart). I acknowledge Heideggerian influence, reflect on what it could mean to think about living with ICTs (information and communication technologies) as a kind of hacking, comment on the Hegelian interpretation of my approach and its application to human–technology relations, bring novels and films into the discussion (Houellebecq, DeLillo/Cronenberg), and clarify that contemporary works of fiction are not necessarily entirely modern and that it has been a central claim here and in my book that although modern thinking and practice attempts to overcome vulnerability with the help of technologies, this is not successful, or it is illusory.

IT-ethical issues in sci-fi film within the timeline of the Ethicomp conference series

Purpose– This paper aims to explore human technology relations through the lens of sci-fi movies within the life cycle of the ETHICOMP conference series. Here, different perspectives on artificial intelligent agents, primarily in the shape of robots, but also including other kinds of intelligent systems, are explored. Hence, IT-ethical issues related to humans interactions with social robots and artificial intelligent agents are illustrated with reference to: Alex Proyas’ I, Robot; James Cameron’s Terminator; and the Wachowski brothers’ Matrix. All three movies present robots cast in the roles of moral agents capable of doing good or evil. Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence, A.I. gives rise to a discussion of the robot seen as a moral patient and furthermore reflects on possibilities for care and trust relations between robots and humans. Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E shapes a discussion of robots as altruistic machines in the role as facilitators of a flourishing society. Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report allows for a discussion of knowledge-discovering technology and the possibility for balancing data utility and data privacy.Design/methodology/approach– Observations of themes in sci-fi movies within the life span of the ETHICOMP conference series are discussed with the purpose of illustrating ways in which science fiction reflects (science) faction. In that sense, science fiction does not express our worries for a distant future, but rather casts light over questions, which is of concern in the present time.Findings– Human technology interactions are addressed and it is shown how sci-fi films highlight philosophical questions that puzzle us today, such as which kind of relationships can and ought to be formed with robots, and whether the roles they play as social actors demand that one ought to assign moral standing to them. The paper does not present firm answers but instead pays attention to the selection and framing of questions that deserve attention.Originality/value– To relate sci-fi movies to topics raised during the past 20 years of the ETHICOMP conference series, seemed to be an appropriate way of celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the ETHICOMP conference series.

Uncovering Everyday Rhythms and Patterns: Food tracking and new forms of visibility and temporality in health care.

This chapter demonstrates how ethnographically-oriented research on emergent technologies, in this case self-tracking technologies, adds to Techno-Anthropology's aims of understanding techno-engagements and solving problems that deal with human-technology relations within and beyond health informatics. Everyday techno-relations have been a long-standing research interest in anthropology, underlining the necessity of empirical engagement with the ways in which people and technologies co-construct their daily conditions. By focusing on the uses of a food tracking application, MealLogger, designed for photographing meals and visualizing eating rhythms to share with health care professionals, the chapter details how personal data streams support and challenge health care practices. The interviewed professionals, from doctors to nutritionists, have used food tracking for treating patients with eating disorders, weight problems, and mental health issues. In general terms, self-tracking advances the practices of visually and temporally documenting, retrieving, communicating, and understanding physical and mental processes and, by doing so, it offers a new kind of visual mediation. The professionals point out how a visual food journal opens a window onto everyday life, bypassing customary ways of seeing and treating patients, thereby highlighting how self-tracking practices can aid in escaping the clinical gaze by promoting a new kind of communication through visualization and narration. Health care professionals are also, however, acutely aware of the barriers to adopting self-tracking practices as part of existing patient care. The health care system is neither used to, nor comfortable with, personal data that originates outside the system; it is not seen as evidence and its institutional position remains insecure.