The Data Hungry Home: A Post-Anthropocentric and Generative Design Framework

Matthew Lee-Smith, Tracy Ross, Garrath T. Wilson, Fung Po Tso, Stefano Cavazzi, Jeremy G. Morley

Contemporary advances in technology and information processing have created technological things that astound and perplex us all. Responding to this progress has united and resonated with posthuman thinking (notably post-anthropocentrism) to develop new lenses and concepts. Within this is a growing focus on considering the world from the perspective of technological things. This shift enables researchers and practitioners to look beyond human-centredness in design, and science and technology studies. However, moving beyond humans, and even beyond organic beings, is still a niche and radical area within these disciplines, with a lack of academic research detailing how uninitiated individuals experience engagement with these concepts and the nature of the discourse it generates. Through six workshops, 22 participants engaged with the Data Hungry Home, a prototype post-anthropocentric design framework that facilitates the design of anthropocentrically purposeless data-dependent technological beings. Analysis of the participants’ experience demonstrates that the Data Hungry Home is a practical design framework for exploring alternative manifestations of technology. However, it also exposes issues with embracing post-anthropocentric approaches, notably when designing (for) technological beings. These include adopting a nonhuman perspective and utilizing design/technology for non-commercial and non-problem-solving ends. These findings then underpin a discussion on how applying a post-anthropocentric design framework can reveal the participants’ structuring, understanding, and acceptability of the limits of design and technology.