Towards Accounting for Nonhuman Agency in Technology Design for Aging

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Abstract
Till date, research on technology design to support aging has largely adopted human-centered approaches, such as user-centered and participatory design. While this body of work continues to yield insights on technologies for older individuals, recent research is beginning to question whether other ways of knowing, that are not solely “humanistic”, can yield new understandings on technologies for aging. We pick up this call, and present emerging findings from our interviews with older adults around their use of home-based intelligent voice assistants. Building upon these findings, we discuss how attuning to the nonhuman agency and the larger material world can offer new insights on technology design for aging, such as, speak to issues of technology non-use by older adults. We discuss implications of assigning responsibility and accountability beyond older adults to nonhuman actors and how it can speak to the deficit-centered narrative that often gets associated with aging.
Funding Information
  • National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (#90REGE0024)