Predicting Inclusive Futures: Wearables, Automation, and Design Speculation

Abstract

For the past 15 years wearable technology, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), and the Internet of Things (IoT) have been gaining in popularity adoption in our everyday lives and in industrial design courses. In years past, there was an excitement around the seemingly limitless potential of these advances in technology to change lives and to usher humanity into the future. As many things ahead of their time, there have been a few bumps in the road, and it has taken use several decades to see where these innovations have landed in the marketplace. A.I. and machine learning are understood for their success in targeted advertising and route optimization as well as their inherent biases and lack of inclusion. IoT has paved the way for digital realities of paperless ticketing and smart toasters. Wearable technology, once so poised to push society into the world science reality, has not moved far beyond the wristwatch or earbuds, and seems to be advancing fastest in the gaming and health industries. In our everyday lives “wearables” has become synonymous with fitness trackers, health monitors, and VR headsets. Why has the creative promise of wearable technology seemed to slow down? In this paper, the authors will discuss university community-based and speculative project case studies that place wearable technology in critical contexts that center new and diverse voices, societal and embodied complexities, and raise ethical critiques on the role wearables might play in shaping a more inclusive society.