| Researchers in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Human Robot Interaction (HRI) design intelligent technologies such as smart homes, assistive robots, and the Internet of Things (IoT) that understand users' situations and perform tasks based on their interpretations. Since intelligent technologies identify everyday issues and conditions within boundaries defined by researchers, these technical measurements put value on certain aspects of users' lives. For example, women became invisible actors in smart home studies "in the wild", and older adults were defined through stereotypes of their aging bodies in assistive robotics. The value in design can reconfigure users' perceptions of what is important in their everyday experiences. Intelligent technologies are therefore political artifacts, and researchers hold significant power to determine not only technology designs but users' understanding of their lives.;To explore how selective aspects of users' lives are incorporated in research, I analyze researchers' positionality in HCI and HRI studies using actor-network theory as a frame to uncover their relationships with research participants (users), and intelligent technologies. The network analysis reveals that researchers' primary interests in intelligent technologies not only create strong relationships between them and the technologies, but also construct the networks of users' lives based on the relationships. To reconstruct alternative research networks, I suggest collaborative design methodologies that allow researchers to build stronger relationships with research participants. I apply the methodologies in two case studies, one on smart home technologies in South Korea and the other on assistive eldercare robotics in the US. Collaborative design methodologies help participants determine which aspects of their lives constitute their issues and research networks from their perspectives. Participants individualize their issues and want to design intelligent technologies enhancing their self-management skills. Through collaborative map making, one of the collaborative methodologies revealing connections among participants, participants found their personal issues (e.g. financial insecurity) were closely entangled with systematic issues (e.g., healthcare policies). They realize that they internalize neoliberal ideology addressing the importance of self-governing and neglecting the role of society. The design process thus acts as a social intervention by increasing participants' critical awareness and by envisioning design possibilities for "matters of concern". |
