The new good
Daniel Fällman · 2011
As a result of the increased interest in issues such as engagement, affection, and meaning, contemporary human-computer interaction (HCI) has increasingly come to examine the nature of interactions between artifacts, humans, and environments through concepts such as user experience and meaning. In the transition from usability metrics to user experience, what appears lacking is a more explicit characterization of what it is HCI now strives for as a discipline--i.e. what constitutes a 'good' user experience? Through a detailed look at two contemporary philosophies of technology--Albert Borgmann's notion of the device paradigm and Don Ihde's non-neutrality of technology-mediated experience--this paper seeks to explore the potential of the philosophy of technology to contribute new insights and provide well-grounded conceptual tools for coming to terms with what may become HCI's 'new good'.