The importance of ending asymmetry. A paradigm shift that reveals the problems and limitations of human-centered thinking and unlocks the potential of non-human agents. Are users the centre of the universe? An average US smartphone receives 46 notifications every day
I find this comparison to be based on a narrow interpretation of HCD focus. There has been much written and years of practice that demonstrate many HCD academics and practitioners advocate for balancing what people desire with business viably and technical feasibility.
Realizing that non-human entities may (but not necessarily do) have agency (and what kind, then?) and are interconnected is one thing, but treating all actors, human and non-human, as equal (which is what the term symmetry suggests) is something else. To do that can have dangerous consequences, as humans may become seen as disposable as anything (which is, as we can notice, already often the case). What is cared for/about might shift more easily then - should businesses care about humans? Or technologies? Their economic growth? Or the health of all living beings? After all, it's all about symmetric actors, right? :)
I find this comparison to be based on a narrow interpretation of HCD focus. There has been much written and years of practice that demonstrate many HCD academics and practitioners advocate for balancing what people desire with business viably and technical feasibility.
Realizing that non-human entities may (but not necessarily do) have agency (and what kind, then?) and are interconnected is one thing, but treating all actors, human and non-human, as equal (which is what the term symmetry suggests) is something else. To do that can have dangerous consequences, as humans may become seen as disposable as anything (which is, as we can notice, already often the case). What is cared for/about might shift more easily then - should businesses care about humans? Or technologies? Their economic growth? Or the health of all living beings? After all, it's all about symmetric actors, right? :)