The purpose of this talk is to empower engineers and designers to take a leading role in shaping the social effects of the products that they create.
Using privacy concerns as an example, Claire Maiers discusses how the regulatory landscape and the organization of the technology industry leave room for designers and engineers—those who are on the ground and making technology products—to be key decision-makers regarding the social effects of their creations.
As part of this discussion, she review the different approaches to privacy taken by industry leaders such as Apple and Google and contrast these with approaches emerging out of Information Technology scholarship and policy, such as the idea of contextual integrity.
Sharing stories from her own experience at a mobile agency, Claire concludes with actionable and tangible suggestions for the ways in which designers and engineers can begin to shape the social consequences of their products. Chief among these is the recommendation that design and development groups establish their own set of principles for guiding their work and decisions.