Reducing Uncertainty and Offering Comfort: Designing Technology for Coping with Interpersonal Racism

Title of the Paper

Reducing Uncertainty and Offering Comfort: Designing Technology for Coping with Interpersonal Racism

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Racial Justice and Technology Design
• Keywords: Racism, Microaggressions, Participatory Design, Interactive Narratives, Uncertainty, Design Workshops

Research Background and Problem

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?

  • BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) frequently experience everyday racism (microaggressions), which negatively impacts their mental health and their ability to seek social support.
  • Mainstream social and communication technologies fail to effectively support victims of racism, and online platforms may even amplify racist behaviors.
  • Designing technology to address racism remains an underexplored research area.

• Why is this problem important?

  • Racism is a pervasive and ongoing societal issue that affects the psychological, emotional, and physical well-being of targeted groups.
  • Technology offers unique opportunities to help users navigate and cope with such complex situations, but existing technology designs often neglect racial justice, potentially exacerbating marginalization.

• Research Motivation and Related Work

  • The authors draw on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and participatory design methodologies to empower BIPOC communities, emphasizing a non-solutionist approach to exploring how technology design can mitigate the impacts of racism.
  • The study highlights the importance of centering the voices and needs of marginalized groups in the design process to address issues in a more inclusive and socially just manner.

Solution

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?

  • They employed the "Foundational Fiction" workshop method, presenting interactive narratives featuring scenarios of racial microaggressions to encourage participants to design based on hypothetical situations.
  • Conducted a series of six participatory design workshops to explore technological solutions that could alleviate the impacts of racism through design imagination and sketch development.

• What is innovative about this solution?

  • The use of interactive narratives protects participants from having to disclose personal experiences, providing a safe space for co-design and envisioning the future.
  • Integrating Critical Race Theory into the design framework emphasizes that technology design must account for racial justice and social impact.
  • Introduces discussions on the complexity of racism, with dialogues addressing individual, social, and systemic needs related to racism.

• What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

  • Constructed a shared story scenario through interactive narratives as the foundation for design work.
  • Sequentially completed key scenario analysis, emotion identification, needs definition, technology ideation, and storyboard development during the workshops.
  • Used participatory design techniques (e.g., sticky notes, sketching, and role-playing) to encourage participants to express their perspectives and conceptualize technology designs.

Research Outcomes

• What specific outcomes were achieved?

  • Participants generated over 100 design concepts, encompassing a wide range of technological solutions from individual support to systemic change.
  • Identified 10 core needs for coping with racism (e.g., social validation, emotional support, reducing uncertainty).
  • Proposed several forward-looking and practical technological designs, including anti-racism chatbots, emotion-sensing technologies, and devices for detecting racist behaviors.

• What advantages does it have compared to existing solutions?

  • Focuses on alleviating the psychological burden of racism victims through technology, rather than merely improving productivity or efficiency for the targeted group.
  • Validates victims' experiences through data, providing authoritative support to challenge the denial and questioning of racism.
  • Designs prioritize social and emotional support while aligning with principles of racial justice, reducing the risk of technology amplifying oppression.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?

  • The workshop setup successfully encouraged participants to openly share their perspectives and design ideas, fostering an environment of trust and supportive dialogue.
  • Most design concepts focused on reducing the uncertainty caused by racism and providing emotional and social support, demonstrating a deep understanding of the problem's complexity.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  • Limitations:

    • The sample primarily consisted of participants comfortable discussing racism, potentially overlooking the needs of a broader population.
    • Results were based on microaggression scenarios, which may not fully capture the complexity of more severe racist behaviors.
    • The study was limited to the U.S. racial and social context, making it difficult to directly generalize to other sociocultural environments.

  • Future Directions:

    • Explore how technology can reflect the social and psychological impacts of racial microaggressions.
    • Test the proposed designs in real-world social contexts to evaluate the long-term impact of anti-racism technologies.
    • Further investigate other identity-related experiences, such as gender, religion, and ability, and incorporate them into the technology design process.

Conclusion

Through participatory design and Critical Race Theory, the paper provides initial insights into how technology can support victims of everyday racism. This research is not only an exploration of technology design but also a societal dialogue on how to create technology more effectively within a racial justice framework. The ultimate goal is to internalize racial justice into design practices and promote technology as a more inclusive tool.