the misuse of pesticides for industrial mass extermination […A]s the war progressed, more and more people were housed in camps so it was to be expected that the demand would rise for pediculicides and other special pesticides.”7
If Wurster truly did not know that his company’s most profitable product was used for mass murder, would he have put an end to the production of Zyklon B if he had been aware? Would the engineers designing Zyklon B have chosen not to design
a stronger pesticide if they had known what its intended use was? Regardless of whether they knew the true and horrifying impact of their product, both the leaders and the engineers of Degesch had the power to slow down, or even prevent, the development of Zyklon B. Such resistance would have had the potential to save countless lives.
By investing time and resources into learning about how technology can be used and who can be affected by it, we can acquire the knowledge needed to prevent harmful outcomes. By exploring the experiences of people who are directly and indirectly affected by an innovation, we can better understand the breadth of its impact. By listening to those who are historically excluded, we can predict and prevent unintended consequences.
It can take time and resources to collect
a variety of experiences but designing for minority and excluded populations can improve outcomes for everyone. Curb cuts, for instance, were originally created to make sidewalks accessible to people with mobility devices like wheelchairs. They now, however, make it easier for everyone to move onto sidewalks, especially when toting suitcases, strollers, and other items with wheels.
We can improve the design process and prevent harm if we keep underrepresented peoples informed, interview them, and consult with them. Just talking to people, however, is not enough. Underrepresented opinions and experiences need to be taken seriously and translated into more inclusive products. By hiring people with relevant experiences, we can bring important perspectives to the decision-making table.
The above lessons are not silver bullets, nor are they a sufficient list of considerations an employee or organization might need to implement in order to be “good” innovators. They are, nevertheless, a good place to start.
We as technologists get to decide what we want our priorities to be. In an era of rapid innovation, we must choose to prioritize the impact of our work and the world we are
a part of rather than innovation itself. Our future depends on it.
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Spencer Doyle was a 2023 FASPE Design and Technology Fellow. He is a PhD candidate in Physics at Harvard.
Leah Kaplan was a 2023 FASPE Design and Technology Fellow. She is a PhD candidate in Systems Engineering at George Washington University.
Emma Pan was a 2023 FASPE Design and Technology Fellow. She is a software engineer, currently working at Microsoft on Seeing AI, an assistive app for people with visual impairments.
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