Art/Science, History, and Speculative Design as Critical Technical Practices for Crisis Informatics

• In Event: Critical Computing: Practicing Collective Agency in the Tech World

Abstract

ICTs such as mapping platforms, algorithms, and databases are a central component of how society understands and responds to the threats posed by disasters. However, these systems have come under increasing criticism in recent years for prioritizing knowledge produced by technical disciplines over insights from the humanities and social science and failing to adequately incorporate the priorities of vulnerable or affected communities. Drawing on Phil Agre's notion of critical technical practice and successive work in the field of human-computer interaction, I offer an argument for and an updated vision of, critical technical practice for the field of crisis informatics that can better address the social context in which ICTs are developed and appropriated. Then, drawing on several case studies from ongoing projects related to earthquake modeling, hurricane risk communications, and flood early warning systems, I suggest that art/science collaboration, historical research, and speculative design can expand our repertoire of critical practices. Together, these practices increase the range of tactics that designers and researchers working on ICTs used in disasters can deploy when seeking to ensure their work contributes to safety, sustainability, and justice.

Author

• Robert Soden, University of Toronto