[The] dynamics of computational artifacts extend beyond the interface narrowly defined, to relations of people with each other and to the place of computing in their ongoing activities. System design, it follows, must include not only the design of innovative technologies, but their artful integration with the rest of the social and material world.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of considering the social and material context when designing technology.
Lucy Suchman's quote highlights that the design of computational artifacts should not be confined to their immediate interfaces but should also encompass the relationships among individuals and the broader context in which these technologies operate. It suggests that successful system design requires an understanding of how technology integrates into social interactions and everyday activities, advocating for a holistic approach to technology design that respects and enhances the human experience.
In practice
In a presentation about user-centered design, this quote illustrates the need for technology to fit seamlessly into social contexts.
I can't blame modern technology for my predilection for distraction, not after all the hours I've spent watching lost balloons disappear into the clouds. I did it before the Internet, and I'll do it after the apocalypse, assuming we still have helium and weak-gripped children.
You look at marketing: everything that's happening in marketing is digitized. Everything that's happening in finance is digitized. So pretty much every industry, every function in every industry, has a huge element that's driven by information technology. It's no longer discrete.
Essentially, every technology you have ever heard of, where electrons move from here to there, has the potential to be revolutionized by the availability of molecular wires made up of carbon. Organic chemists will start building devices. Molecular electronics could become reality.
Today every invention is received with a cry of triumph which soon turns into a cry of fear.
When you post something, when you text something, you lose ownership of it when you hit enter or send. Who you send it to, where you post it, they take ownership of that information whether you like it or not. Unfortunately, you don't lose responsibility for that text or post.
The country that owns green, that dominates that industry, is going to have the most energy security, national security, economic security, competitive companies, healthy population and, most of all, global respect.
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