The term ‘robot’ was coined in in 1920 by Josef Čapek for his brother Karel. The word meant “forced labour”.
For all the impressive advances in robotics since then, some of which we saw on the BBC series ‘Revolutions‘ last night, the idea of “forced labour” – including, for Jim Al-Kalili, child-rearing – remains almost unquestioned.
It reminded me that we humans often dive into technology, when we should be re-thinking how we relate to each other.
“Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.” Dieter Rams, Design Principle number 5.
Processes, organisations, jobs, are products fulfilling a purpose too.
Autonomy. It’s why you started your business. To be able to do the job you want to do, the way … Read More “Autonomy”
“The possibilities for progression are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for original designs. But imaginative design always develops in tandem with improving technology, and can never be an end in itself.” Dieter Rams, Design Principle number 1.
New technologies allow us to re-think or even re-imagine how we do things, so we can do them better – whatever ‘better’ means: faster; slower; more consistently; more easily; more naturally; more thoroughly.
The metal case meant the radiogram could take up less space, and also meant the speakers put out a truer sound. But a metal lid rattled when the machine was used. Plexiglass solved that problem, and in doing so meant that the controls could move to the top of the machine, which in turn meant that how to use it could become more obvious to anyone who’d never seen it before.
True advances require both novel technology and imagination, the two things bouncing creatively off each other, opening up possibilities. Imagination makes technology human.
Without both imagination and advancing technology, all we can do is embellish, or worse, over-complicate. Neither of which adds value.
“You cannot understand good design if you do not understand people; design is made for people.” Dieter Rams ‘Design by Vitsoe’, 1976
Good Design:
Imagine if we designed organisations and processes this way too?
In today’s ‘Thought for the Day’ on Radio 4, Tina Beatty told us of an insight by Hilary Cottam, which is that many big ‘social welfare’ projects fail ‘not because of a lack of funding, but because of a lack of attentiveness to what people really need.’ For women without easy access to water, a well in their village is a far better – and far cheaper – solution than building a dam.
As Tina said, this seems so obvious, why is it being viewed as radical?
I think it’s because ‘failure’ depends on which side of the funding you are on. Take a look at the diagram in this piece by Richard Murphy to see the kind of thing that often happens.
What actually makes Hilary Cottam radical is that she’s suggesting that the ostensible purpose of these projects should also be the real one.
All too often, we mistake what we want for what the people we claim to serve want.
Once you know this, what you do for the people you serve can get simpler.
We are living in interesting times, and its easy to feel somewhat powerless to affect them. There is one significant … Read More “Purchasing Power”
We’re fond of the oddball genius, the outsider who sees possibilities that nobody else could, the creative destroyer that starts with a clean sheet, cross-fertilising industries or disciplines to generate a great leap forward.
But there is another breed of innovator, just as valid. One who combines deep knowledge and understanding of what’s gone before with an openness to novel solutions that enhance that past rather than destroying it. Driven by a straightforward desire to make things better.
Unicorns and racehorses. We need both.
One of my favourite Seth Godin aphorisms is this one:
“Make things better by making better things.”
Making things better is what humans do. And we mostly do it by creating new, better tools – tools for making and tools for doing; tools for organising and tools for co-ordinating; tools for learning and tools for thinking; tools for connecting and tools for feeling.
For me, great tools extend human capabilities without undermining the humanity behind them or the context around them. They make us both more human and more part of the world we live in.
Our very best tool is our ability to re-imagine what ‘better’ means.
“No taxation without representation!”
We’re all familar with the demand that triggered the American war of independence.
Colonists felt it was deeply unfair that they should have no say on how they were governed from afar, but still had to pay duties on luxury goods received via that far-off government.
Nowadays there are those who would like to flip this idea around, claiming that those who pay ‘no tax’ should not be represented in government.
This is based on misinformation of course, ‘no tax’ in this case means ‘no income tax’. People who are not eligible to pay income tax still pay national insurance, VAT, fuel duty, tobacco and alcohol duties, car tax, insurance tax, and these taxes often represent a significant proportion of their income.
What those suggesting “No representation without taxation” are really saying is “You don’t count.”
Tax is far too important to merely avoid. Time to think differently about it, before it’s too late.