Technology for the Future, Design for the Present? Reflections on the Ambient Assisted Living Technology Industry

Abstract

this essay examines the emergence of a ‘proto-industry’ that is researching, designing, and building technology with a specific futures in mind. That future is one of a rapidly aging world in which technology plays a key role in supporting the needs and experiences of older people. This category of technologies is referred to as ambient assisted living technology, and it often takes form of ubiquitous computing, or Ubicomp, created for a particular type of older ‘user’. Despite the fact that this demographic aging is already a reality, and much of the technology required already exists, this industry typically frames its efforts in terms of a “proximate future” (Bell and Dourish 2006). Such a future is always just around the corner or coming into view over the horizon. In this brave new world, new technological capabilities and interaction models will allow older people to achieve their goals through seamless, ubiquitous computing experiences. I suggest that this frame of a proximate future creates a focus on technology development and overshadows the importance of social and cultural practice in the development of appropriate technological interventions.