One fundamental HCI heuristics postulates that user freedom – as embodied through
the undo feature – has to be implemented for efficient and smooth interaction.
The resulting ubiquity of reversibility stands in contrast to the causality we experience
in the physical world.
Yet, causality – and therefore irreversibility – is a fundamental keystone in learning
about the inmost mechanisms of the world and thus is deeply rooted in the way we conceptualize
interactions and materials.
As much as irreversibility is central to our everyday lives, HCI interfaces often try to
avoid or mask irreversibility.
While irreversible processes and practices have been implicitly used in HCI by the means
of undesigning, unmaking, or ephemeral interfaces, irreversibility itself has not explicitly
been conceptualized and reviewed as a design factor.
In this talk I present:
Three material speculations which we designed to utilize irreversible interactions.
As well as a conceptualization of the properties and factors that shape the qualities of such
interactions.
We explored how to use irreversibility in three material speculations.
In the speculation FOUR ON THE FLOOR we focussed on music production which uses, e.g., undo
to lower the risk of interactions.
Contrary to this, playing live music requires foresight and the consideration of the musical
context.
The aim of this speculation was to explore how a production task and the related user
experience change when reversibility is transformed into an irreversible interaction.
We based 4 on the Floor on a familiar concept that inherently includes irreversibility.
Thus, we transferred the 4 in a row game to a musical sequencer.
By dropping colored discs in a grid, actants build musical melodies and rhythms, which
can not be altered.
We found that the participants appreciated the creativity, the thoughtful process and
the playful aspects, despite the “demanding” quality of the task.
In the material speculation SOCIAL SHREDDER, we looked into personal data and social media.
When interacting on social media, users are aware that they provide personal data.
But, they often do not have privacy concerns.
The aim of the speculation was to explore whether an actant’s behavior changes if
the irreversible nature of their interaction is materially emphasized.
We designed the SocialShredder that alters a personal item – a Polaroid picture – whenever
images are liked on social media.
This visualizes that the provided data is lost and cannot be reclaimed.
As a result less likes were provided.
Further, participants reported longer contemplation on performing likes and a heightened awareness
of their likes being irreversible.
Further, the shredding stimulated interest in the altered object.
In the PUNISHABLE AI exploration, we focussed on providing feedback to intelligent systems.
Since providing feedback to intelligent systems can be challenging for non experts, anthropomorphic
interactions, such as praise and scold, are considered.
To be accepted, users need to believe that the machine is sufficiently intelligent to
understand the meaning of and is affected by the interaction.
The aim of the speculation was to explore how actants perceive the impact of incremental
destructive feedback when applied with irreversible consequences.
A robot should be trained to walk a straight line.
When it gets off track, feedback is provided first by scolding, second by a negative stimulus,
and last by gradually breaking the robot’s legs.
The observation revealed that participants hesitated to execute the action and stated
to rather avoid destructive feedback, due to economic and emotional reasons.
Some felt empathy and thus, the interaction was perceived as discomfortable, others interpreted
it as a provocation, contradicting established principles, which triggered engaged discussions.
For all speculations, we observed a clear understanding of the present cause-effect
relationship.
This can be explained by the basic understanding of the physical world, on the basis of which
consequences are extrapolated.
Whereas this explains the understanding of irreversibility, it can not explain the observed
affection.
Participants were stimulated to contemplate their actions, were reminded of implications,
or triggered to reconsider the sense of an action.
Therefore, we want to highlight three key observations:
The interaction flow was interrupted.
The altered objects aroused interest.
The reasoning exceeded purely rational considerations.
This led us to conceptualize irreversibility, in order to appeal to the question “what
factors of irreversibility contribute to the observed influence on the behavior?”.
We deduced the following factors by comparing our material speculations and exemplar projects
and identified properties that belong to the artifact and its materiality, the individual
and external context, and the involvement in the irreversible (inter)action.
Irreversibility directly involves an artifact’s materiality, with consequences that changes
its value.
The value can depict: The objective value, i.e., an economical value
based on supply and demand or on a societal agreement.
The subjective value which is either based on the individual’s subjective perception,
emotional attachment and past experiences, as well as on cultural considerations such
as moral and ethical principles.
These aspects depend on the interpreting person and their societal context.
Contemplating the design process as the creation of meaning is not possible without considering
the individual using the artifact, thus creating a context in which design and interaction
are interpreted.
The context is personal as well as socio-cultural.
We can objectively describe an irreversible transformation such as “ice transforms into
water” but the perception of melting ice cubes, a melting ice sculpture or the melting
of the polar caps depends on the context that is established by the individual or the belonging
society.
Lastly, we identified that actants take roles, based on their involvement.
They can be actors who actively act, spectators who observe an action, or moralizers who pass
by and form an opinion.
We identify two dimensions of the involvement.
First, how “close” an action is coupled to its consequence.
Second, how much “time” separates the consequence from the cause.
The non-existence of a proxy and of a delay create a stronger involvement and a direct
cause-effect relationship.
As designers we can deliberately use these factors to shape the experience.
We can, e.g., adapt the objective or subjective value, contradict or capitalize the socio-cultural
context, or change the actant involvement.
While our exploration seems fundamentally contrary to decades of HCI research, we found
that the intentional appropriation of irreversibility can stimulate actant behavior which joins
in with current research trends.
Our observations showed irreversibility to break actants’ mindless interaction flow.
In turn, actants reflect on the implications of their actions and thus on the actions themselves.
This is consistent with theories that conceptualize risk as intertwined with attention and engagement.
Risks becomes a “positive aspect of embodied practice”, where it is understood as the
consideration of choosing and performing an “action which cannot be undone while the
consequences of the action are not fully knowable ahead of time”.
Generating such engagement is of interest when technologies take over the thoughtful
use of technologies and instead turn these into addicting experiences.
We see the potential of irreversibility to actually create “reflective” technologies
that incorporate implicit “mindful” actions helping us being present during our interaction.
While the aspect of mindful acting is in general about a constant change of actant behavior,
irreversible interactions can as well function as an intended threshold.
This is comparable to research about microboundaries that interrupt an interaction flow to hinder
unconscious and momentous decisions.
For example, pushing a button to confirm an action is meaningless in itself since it is
the same for saving a file, sending an e-mail, or deleting the hard-drive.
Irreversible interactions, however, can emphasize the causality and the action’s finite character,
thus creating a meaningful experience.
Beside the effect, that irreversibility shapes the way we interact and think, irreversibility
also changes the artifact itself.
People naturally develop an attachment to regularly used objects, that “carry memories,
generate identities and provoke new ideas”.
When they get used and the use is reflected, they transform from the arbitrary to the personal,
creating subjective value with an embedded narrative.
We see the potential to individualize experiences, to create empathetic connection based on shared
memories and stories, as well as to improve sustainability.
If we perceive a strong connection with objects, they might be worth preserving, repairing,
and keeping instead of instantly replacing.
We started this paper as a thought experiment, asking ourselves, “How can irreversibility,
as a design strategy in HCI, be conceptualized?”.
Whereas other research strives for goals such as the effectiveness of systems, our goals
lie within the actants themselves.
While the included irreversibility does not achieve faster usage or less errors, it ultimately
lines up with the question what we expect from future technologies.
Current expectations, such as that technology supports our health, well-being, and meaning
in life, can only be achieved if we change the way we interact and consume technology
and media lastingly.
One important step towards that goal is to design for self-reflection, meaningful acting,
and a sustainable relationship with technology.
Our learning and insights can inform future technologies that infuse a sense of conscious
presence for certain interactions.
Our provided designs and reflections should thereby be considered as provocative and speculative
stimuli aimed at a critical discourse about fundamental future goals we, as HCI researchers,
strive for and help us defining a collective future HCI vision together.