Power <> Responsibility
Something that’s been top-of-mind for me lately is the potential for us, as future designers, to create things that may eventually impact hundreds, if not thousands (if not millions) of people, depending on the work we do and the projects we take on. That’s a pretty overwhelming thought! It weighs on me a bit.
We typically associate power with politicians, celebrities, executives, and billionaires – those who have clout, money, and quite a bit of sway – and the word tends to conjure up negative connotations, often being associated with greed and corruption. But what kinds of scenarios or situations might power be used for “good”? (“Good” in quotes because I mostly try to avoid using the good/bad dichotomy – life is more complicated than that.)
Yes, some people have a great deal of power, more than most of us. But having power simply means that one has the ability to effect change. That means policymakers, doctors, lawyers, and engineers hold power. That also means that educators, designers, social workers, therapists, filmmakers, activists, journalists, and citizens have the power to influence change of some sort. It might not be the same type of power, nor the same amount, but it’s power nonetheless.
As we’ve been digesting the words and work of designers and technologists such as Leyla Acaroglu, Curt Arledge, Jonathan Harris, Mike Monteiro, George Aye, and Ada A., it makes me wonder how many other folks in the tech and design community consider the power inherent in the decisions that they make – the ability to influence behaviors, experiences, and habits. And the ripple effect of those decisions.
I’m sure you’ve heard and/or read the quote, “with great power comes great responsibility”. Power and responsibility go hand-in-hand.
So what would our world look and be like if we in the design community took that responsibility as a deep commitment to invest more time, energy, and attention into building the “generative-hopeful-uplifting-energizing-bold-collective” type of power, to balance out the “greedy-corrupt-deceitful-unjust-extractive-exploitative” type that runs on the fuel we call fear, feeds on a mindset of scarcity, and consistently sabotages our shared culture, society, and humanity?
I pose this question not in despair or frustration, but rather to challenge the status quo behavior that seems to have overshadowed more creative ways of thinking and being, as we’ve pursued and prioritized “economic growth at all costs” (and there are, and have been many, costs), leaving marginalized groups behind and out of the conversation of what constitutes “growth” – not to mention, whether “growth” as we’ve seen it play out through conventional economic policy is even a responsible way forward and worth pursuing at this point, given what we know about climate change.
I also pose the question to call out the type of opportunity we all have to influence the culture we want to build, and to shape the society we want to exist and thrive in. All of us have the ability to shape culture – each of us has the power, no matter how seemingly small, to shape the culture of a group, space, community, team, etc. So I want to ask other up-and-coming designers the same questions I ask myself: what spaces do we want to step into and engage in, and how do we want to show up in those spaces? In other words, what do we want to care about – what do we want to invest our time, energy, and attention into, and to what do we want to lend our presence, actions, and focus?
The legacy we leave is based on the decisions that we make, and as designers, those decisions have the potential to impact people’s lives in ways we may not always clearly foresee, given our inherent biases. So what might it look like to start practicing more intention and care in the ways we approach design, especially in community with our stakeholders, and especially with those who are most affected by the things we design? In what ways can we exercise that power responsibly, particularly within the context of modern technology?
I admit, these are big, open questions that warrant further discussion. In the meantime, though, I made another bite-sized zine (read: we were asked to make a zine) to capture some sporadic and somewhat incomplete thoughts of mine, inspired by recent readings from our Public Sector, Innovation, and Impact class – check it out:
