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Technology & Social Expectations
An important aspect of technologies that we don’t often think about directly is the expectations that we have for them. These vary by culture and society and impact how they are adapted in various sociocultural settings.
Designers often think about expectations, but today, many technologies are developed within the mindset of only solving for a problem, often bypassing the designers inputs. Without thinking about what humans expect from their technology. How it works, how it will affect them, cultural differences, impacts on societies. It is part of the reason that social media went sideways and will impact how Artificial Intelligence will become embedded in our sociocultural systems.
When inventors of technologies do consider expectations they can find ever more interesting ways to innovate and evolve a technology that meets with the expectations of the intended users. This can also help inventors avoid their own biases, enhancing the chances for the success of a given technology.
So what do we mean by social expectations of technologies? They can be summed up as the norms, values, beliefs, traditions and customs that shape how we perceive and interact with various technologies.
Cultures that are more “me” focused expect technologies to serve them first. They view technologies from an individualistic…
