We come across dozens of design breakthroughs and technological innovations daily--so many that it's easy to miss important trends emerging in the chaos all around us and not connect the dots to see the BIG picture. Here at The Institute for Customer Experience (ICE), we understand the business and design value of capturing the right trend insights at the right moment. We observe and analyse trends in design, technology, and business, and keep our fingers on the pulse of the global zeitgeist. In this series of trendbriefs, we bring you alerts on what's trending in our world and their possible impact on our future. Subscription to ICE Breakers - http://eepurl.com/S1ZFL View Archived ICE Breakers - http://ice.humanfactors.com/ice_breakers.html

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How can initiatives such as “UX for Good” , “Design for Social Change” ensure
integration of all users, irrespective of income, ethnicity, goegraphy etc. instead of
creating a special category by ‘poorifying’ existing products and services?
Should and (will) ‘delightful’ UX be used as another ‘luxury’ service for the rich?
Source:
http://centerx.gseis.ucla.edu/xchange/critical-uses-of-media-and-technology/xpress/the-myth-of-technology-as-the-2018great-equalizer2019
http://www.astd.org/Publications/Blogs/Learning-Technologies-Blog/2014/03/The-Great-Equalizer
https://modelviewculture.com/pieces/it-s-not-you-it-s-the-system
"Through the power of technology, humans are
set to take on the role of Intelligent Designer.
We can upgrade ourselves and surmount
evolution. The latest human enhancements will
be accessible only to the rich, leading to a 21st
century society more unequal than any that came
before”
The Great Equalizer
The Guardian.
(http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/05/body-upgrades-only-for-
rich )
7
ICE Breakers by
Technology as an Equalizer - A myth or fact.
Wearables, 3D printing, VR, Self-Quantification
and other cutting edge technologies are
accessible only to the privileged few. In the near
future when body upgrades and skills
enhancements using technology are possible,
society will become more unequal than ever.
There will be other growing concerns such as
data security, privacy and piracy.
Sometime back, technology and more specifically
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was
seen as the major tool to alleviate inequalities in various
aspects of life across the world. The advent of each new
technology has enabled people to get in contact with many
more people, be more informed, and knowledgeable;
however, we are still far out from the dream of a world
where technology acts as the Great Equalizer.
“According to a recent Pew report, access to devices
is noticeably different between higher and lower
income schools. Schools don’t allow students of
color to use their mobile devices because they think
those students will not use them in what they
consider appropriate ways”
(Tina Barseghian, MindShift.
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/for-low-income-kids-
access-to-devices-could-be-the-equalizer/ )
Txt2work (http://www.txt2wrk.net/ )
Connecting ‘disadvantaged’ jobseekers and employers
Txt2Wrk helps connect disadvantaged jobseekers with timely
employment opportunities via SMS. The project emerged from a
participatory design process at an Oakland hackathon in which a
formerly incarcerated participant described the challenges of job
search for those with limited resources and no home computer or
broadband connection.
Lavabit
Privacy only for the rich
Lavabit is a discontinued encrypted webmail service, founded in 2004.
In the new era, truly secure data is increasingly rare. New companies like
Lavabit are emerging to take advantage of the growing demand for privacy
and creating a new market in the process. Like opening a Swiss bank
account to keep your holdings safe and undetectable, those individuals and
corporations with enough capital can now buy their way to security.
IMPACT ON UX