University of Colorado Boulder, ATLAS Colloquium: Designing Technology Policy through Prototyping

ATLAS Colloquium welcomes Michal Luria

Title: Designing Technology Policy through Prototyping
Date: Tuesday, November 15
Time: 11:30 am to 12:30 pm MST  //  1:30 PM to 2:30 pm ET

Location: Roser ATLAS Center, 208
1125 18th Street, Boulder, CO 80309
Via Zoom or come to the watch party at ATLS 208

Abstract: In this talk I consider how Research-through-Design and prototyping methodologies can inform and impact policy-making. Human-centered design research is inherently democratic, as it prioritizes people’s needs and values, promotes dialogue as part of decision-making, and brings new and underrepresented voices into the conversation. We therefore see an increase in qualitative research and “design thinking” in the public sector, civil society and government contexts. Yet the critical design aspect of reframing through prototyping is rare or absent from policy-making processes. Perhaps this is because policy aims to be comprehensive and theoretical and prototypes are specific and experiential. In my work, I instead emphasize the fact that policy and Research-through-Design can have a common goal—to understand human needs and concerns, and to shift the current state of being into a preferred state. I present a series of projects that focus on creating and researching immersive and provocative prototypes of current and future interfaces with technology. Through these projects, I argue for the case of prototyping as a sense-making approach to policy-making, especially technology-related policy.

Bio: Michal Luria is a Researcher at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a non-profit advocacy for digital human rights. Michal has obtained her Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University. Her work makes use of unique immersive and human-centered design research methods to envision and critique interactions with emerging technologies that function in complex social contexts. In her work she translates research insights into thought-provoking interactions and necessary discussions of ethics and policy. She has a M.Sc in HCI from Carnegie Mellon University, and a B.A in Interactive Communication from Reichman University in Israel. She previously worked on design research teams at iRobot and Facebook, and her research appeared in leading academic journals, and was featured on NBC, Dezeen, BBC News, The Verge, and Engadget, among others. More here: https://www.michalluria.com/