Column: A Better Future

Welcome to the first edition of my new column: A Better Future: Designing for good in a changing world. My hope is that this column will be a natural extension of the two series I’ve previously written for UXmatters, “Understanding Gender and Racial Bias in AI” and “The State of UX Design Education.” My goal is to continue educating myself and this community on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the future of design, with a focus on the perils of designing in an artificial intelligence (AI)–powered world and what we, as UX designers and researchers, can do to address these challenges.

To get us all on the same page about capital G, good design, I’m kicking off my column with a discussion about design ethics. This topic feels particularly relevant given the recent news from Menlo Park, California. As I write this, The Wall Street Journal has released The Facebook Files, investigative research that concludes what many of us have suspected for years: Facebook has some special rules for elite users. Instagram is toxic for teenage girls. Facebook is an angry place and makes the world an angrier place. Read More