2026/01/01 by Sophie Quinton, Jean-Bernard Stefani · 2 voices · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Computer Science · Arts and Humanities · #Information Systems Theories and Implementation #Innovative Human-Technology Interaction #Cybernetics and Technology in Society
paper · doi:10.4000/16954
Our digital societies bear the hallmarks of non-convivial technologies as identified more than fifty years ago by Ivan Illich in his seminal book Tools for Conviviality (1973). In a context of ecosystemic and socio-economical crises, we argue in this paper that Illich’s ideas remain remarkably relevant, not only for understanding the negative effects of digital technologies but also as guidelines for embedding digital technologies in a degrowth scenario. As computer scientists, we therefore propose a research agenda for developing design for conviviality, a strongly normative value sensitive approach to the design of digital artefacts and systems. We discuss in particular two examples, digital infrastructures and business process management, which seem to be very much in need of a convivial rethinking.