Computers should be able to do X. Current techniques only do X-I. We contribute a technique that does I.

It's not exactly an inspiring narrative, but this humble argument has nevertheless fueled incremental technological progress over the past century and ushered us through three generations of computing and into the Internet of Things we find ourselves moving today. As devices get embedded into the fabric of our lives and become inextricable parts of the experiences that shape us, their inevitable impact on our wellbeing grows ever greater. Yet engineering hangs onto technology-focused approaches. Sometimes humans are included in the equation, although mainly as comparison points:

Computers should be able to do X. Humans do X very well. Current techniques do only X-I. We contribute a technique that does I by emulating the way a human does it.

I (Rafael), for one, have used both of these arguments in my work (just replace X with “recognize emotions” or “help students” and I with “use language” or “give feedback”). Yet any system created for human use will have some effect on human psychological wellbeing, however profound or negligible. In order to be able to take this effect into account in our design, we can start by looking at how current technologies already impact wellbeing and at how current research areas can or already do contribute to our understanding in this area.

Computers should be able to do X. Current techniques only do X-I. We contribute a technique that does I.

It's not exactly an inspiring narrative, but this humble argument has nevertheless fueled incremental technological progress over the past century and ushered us through three generations of computing and into the Internet of Things we find ourselves moving today. As devices get embedded into the fabric of our lives and become inextricable parts of the experiences that shape us, their inevitable impact on our wellbeing grows ever greater. Yet engineering hangs onto technology-focused approaches. Sometimes humans are included in the equation, although mainly as comparison points:

Computers should be able to do X. Humans do X very well. Current techniques do only X-I. We contribute a technique that does I by emulating the way a human does it.

I (Rafael), for one, have used both of these arguments in my work (just replace X with “recognize emotions” or “help students” and I with “use language” or “give feedback”). Yet any system created for human use will have some effect on human psychological wellbeing, however profound or negligible. In order to be able to take this effect into account in our design, we can start by looking at how current technologies already impact wellbeing and at how current research areas can or already do contribute to our understanding in this area.