Value-sensitive design: freedom and privacy // Sebastian Greger

Constructively questioning the technological imperative is of value for individuals, organisations, and society at large – alternatives are often better and open up new opportunities

As technology takes an ever growing role in all aspects of life, the implications of ignoring its social implications on individual users’ lives as well as on societal values can be severe. Most importantly, a critical perspective on implicit value decisions in design processes does not have to be anti-technology; the constructive assessment of inherent values can still be enthusiastic of technology and its potential.

The value of my approach is in facilitating a critical review of the implicit values brought along by mainstream technology trends and centralised tendencies in technology development. Potential issues are identified, alternatives discussed, and ultimately design decisions can be made under full consideration of alternatives.

This includes considerations of

technological independence (conceptually as well as technically),
user privacy – and even human rights,
value conflicts between organisations and their digital activities, and
conceptual and artistic freedom to create independently valuable designs.

The most obvious solution is not always the best. If using monopolist cloud services without reflection of the implicit adoption of their values (e.g. in terms of user privacy, but also technological and economical dependence), an apparently simple and affordable design may well be in conflict with its provider’s core values. If designs are created by blindly following a mainstream trend rather than specific needs, technological independence is at risk.

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