Research-through-design for considering ethical implications in Ambient Intelligence system design: The Growth Plan approach

The technologies we use transform our behaviours and experiences. Particularly Ambient Intelligent (AmI) systems, envisioned to integrate extensively, will have a profound influence on our everyday lives. Design of these systems requires considering what kind of influence is desirable. This brings the ethical dimension of Ambient Intelligent system design to the fore. The design research approach presented in this paper is tailored to incorporate these ethical implications of Ambient Intelligent systems in the design process. The approach combines three central themes: advanced technologies, social implications and research-through-design methodology. A three-phase development and evaluation plan, called the Growth plan, is proposed. The first phase, called Incubation, involves highly innovative and explorative concepts, created and tested in short iterative research-through-design cycles. Experienciability is key already in this first phase. In the second phase, the Nursery, AmI concepts are developed to a high level of detail and tested in a controlled lab environment. These experiments allow initial testing on how the AmI system transforms people’s behaviours and experiences. The final phase is the Adoption, in which Ambient Intelligent systems are placed and evaluated in real life contexts. It generates knowledge related to the AmI system’s actual influence on social life (insitu ethical implications). The outcome of this approach is illustrated through the case study of the design an intelligent lamp.