Slides or talk given at Universities of Limerick and Leicester in January 2020.
more info at:
https://alandix.com/deepdigitality/
https://alandix.com/digitalthinking/
In an ACM Interactions column and an Irish HCI keynote I have explored Deep Digitality, an approach to the radical re-imagination of large scale systems of society: manufacturing, healthcare, government and healthcare. Deep Digitality takes the counter-factual premise asking what these systems would be like of digital technology had preceded the industrial revolution, the Medicis or even Hippocrates. Paradoxically, in some of these digital-first scenarios, digital technology is sparse and yet there is clearly a digital mindset at play. It is the kind of thinking that underlies some of the more radical digital apps and products, and builds on the assumptions of a world where computation and sensing are cheap, communication and information are pervasive, and digital fabrication is mainstream. This digital thinking connects with other 'thinkings' (computational, design, management, systems) and but appears distinct – less focused on decomposition and engineering than computational thinking, but more principle rather than process driven than design thinking. I have been trying to distill some of the defining features and heuristic principles of Digital Thinking and this talk captures some of this nascent work in progress.
5. The drainage pattern is thus superimposed and,
apart from the major structural disturbances of
the Neath and Tawe, the river system does not
relate to the underlying geology.
D. Leighton (1998) Mynydd Du and Fforest Fawr: Evolution
of an Upland Landscape in South Wales
6. the digital geology
is shifting beneath our feet
…but our social and industrial topography
remains rooted in the physical and
organisational constraints of the 19th century
15. health
medical vs care-giving – siloed professions
why?
intrinsic
skills and abilities
accidental:
physical constraints of the hospital building
knowledge and information
16. shoes of different sizes
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shoes,_pair_(black)_(AM_1978.53-2).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Many_Victoria_Shoe_Boxes.jpg
17. the printed washing machine
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washing_Machine_Beko.jpg
photos: Jacqui Bennett
22. ways of thinking
computational thinking
–decomposition, etc.
design thinking
–method and process
systems thinking
–big picture
management thinking
–anyone’s guess!
23. … just first steps
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marguerite_Gérard_-_The_first_steps.jpg
24. enablers of digital thinking
• cheap computation and sensing
• ubiquitous communication
• growth of digital fabrication
• changing role of money
25. facets of digital thinking
Human
– how existing human processes and systems might
radically change or new ones emerge.
• breaking physical constraints of communication, production
and transport
Engineering
– how we design physical systems differently, given the
nature of digital technology
• trading engineering precision for computational power
finding better problems
solving problems better
27. Human – finding better problems
• Individual vs. uniform mass production
• Distributed vs. centralised
• Open monitored processes
• Deconstructing knowledge, behaviour and
experience
28. Human – finding better problems
• Individual vs. uniform mass production
– e.g. fashion and washing machine case studies
– enabled by communication, digital fabrication
• Distributed vs. centralised
• Open monitored processes
• Deconstructing knowledge, behaviour and
experience
29. Human – finding better problems
• Individual vs. uniform mass production
• Distributed vs. centralised
– e.g. washing machine case study
– enabled by communication, digital fabrication,
role of money
• Open monitored processes
• Deconstructing knowledge, behaviour and
experience
30. Human – finding better problems
• Individual vs. uniform mass production
• Distributed vs. centralised
• Open monitored processes
– e.g. digital archives, drug testing policy
– enabled by communication, computation
• Deconstructing knowledge, behaviour and
experience
31. Human – finding better problems
• Individual vs. uniform mass production
• Distributed vs. centralised
• Open monitored processes
• Deconstructing knowledge, behaviour and
experience
– e.g. health – just in time knowledge for paramedics
– enabled by communication, computation
33. Engineering – solving problems better
• Commoditising complexity
• Control vs. measurement
• Accuracy vs. computation
• Best vs. good enough
• Physical–digital ecologies
34. Engineering – solving problems better
• Commoditising complexity
– e.g. firefly
• Control vs. measurement
• Accuracy vs. computation
• Best vs. good enough
• Physical–digital ecologies
35. Engineering – solving problems better
• Commoditising complexity
• Control vs. measurement
– e.g. universal governor,
Euro fighter, Segway,
autonomous cars
• Accuracy vs. computation
• Best vs. good enough
• Physical–digital ecologies
By Globbet - Own work by uploader, with permission from the
Mill Meece Pumping Station Preservation Trust, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7421535
Two tourists on a Segway (photo Spinnick597, Wikipedia) :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FlorenceSegwayTour.jpg
36. Engineering – solving problems better
• Commoditising complexity
• Control vs. measurement
• Accuracy vs. computation
– e.g. FireFly,
submarine tracking
• Best vs. good enough
• Physical–digital ecologies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpio_ROV#/media/File:US_Navy_040426-N-7949W-
007_Deep_Submergence_Unit_(DSU)_Unmanned_Vehicle_Detachment_(UMA_Det)_personnel_guide_the_Super_Scorpio
_remote_operated_vehicle_(ROV)_to_a_safe_recovery.jpg
37. Engineering – solving problems better
• Commoditising complexity
• Control vs. measurement
• Accuracy vs. computation
• Best vs. good enough
– ACID vs. noSQL, satisficing
• Physical–digital ecologies
38. Engineering – solving problems better
• Commoditising complexity
• Control vs. measurement
• Accuracy vs. computation
• Best vs. good enough
• Physical–digital ecologies
– e.g. mobile learning, books
39.
40. in summary
deep digitality
– money is different
– digital geology has shifted
– radical transformation is possible
digital thinking
– breaking constraints
– not just for digital technology