Leonardo's Laptop focuses on what computer users should expect from technology. Schneiderman challenges both hardware and software developers to build products that better support human needs and are usable at any bandwidth. Proposing da Vinci as an inspirational muse for the "new computing," he raises the intriguing question: How would Leonardo use a laptop, and what applications would he create? The interview below is reprinted courtesy of the MIT Press.
MIT Press: The underlying message of Leonardo's Laptop is the need for new ways of thinking. Please define what you mean by the new computing.
Ben Shneiderman: The old computing is what computers can do; the new computing is about what people can do.
Our experience with information and communications technology could be dramatically better. It's time to get angry at the quality of our computing environments: too many crashes, too many confusing designs, too many frustrations. We need to pressure software, hardware, and network developers to work together to develop more reliable and comprehensible products.
The new computing is also about creativity and empowerment for everyone. Effective designs should be usable by young and old, novice and expert, well and poorly educated, owners of new and older computers, speakers of English and other languages. Universal usability can improve the experience for all users.
The new computing is about enabling us to concentrate on our personal needs and support our relationships with others. We appreciate information and communication technologies most when we can accomplish our goals with a sense of safety and mastery. The new computing technologies will enable us to calmly communicate, create, and explore (see www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/newcomputing).
MIT: With history chock full of creative thinkers, what made you select Leonardo?
BS: Leonardo is my hero and inspirational muse because of his blend of science and art, engineering and aesthetics. He integrated visual intuitive thinking with careful analysis. We need to shift the balance from the excessive focus on computation, and think more about serving human needs. We have won the battle for megahertz and megabytes; now it is time to think deeply about improving the lives of computer users.
MIT: How much of this book came out of your personal frustrations with today's computing scene?
BS: Much of the motivation for Leonardo's Laptop and my research career stems from my own frustrations in using computers...over 35 years. I believe we must not accept technology as it is, but fight to make it better.
MIT: With similar ideas already out there in the marketplace, what makes the new computing techniques in Leonardo's Laptop unique?
The new computing concepts guide users and developers to envision a more satisfying future by putting human needs at the center. The three goals -- making technology more usable, universal, and useful -- are designed to raise our expectations about information and communications technologies.
BS: Who do you blame most for the problems associated with the old style of computing?
I think many designers have been so focused on technology that they have led us astray. They put too much emphasis on "cool" technology while ignoring human needs. Leonardo's Laptop presents an alternative vision to balance some of the counterproductive scenarios of artificial intelligence, autonomous agents, and anthropomorphic machines.
MIT: Are you fearful of alienating the technology and artificial intelligence communities in focusing more on people than on technological advancements?
BS: I am not fearful, but eager, to shift the emphasis from technology to human needs. I believe that the artificial intelligence way of thinking has misled designers for more than 30 years, wasting much time and money pursuing unrealistic and inappropriate goals (conversing with machines, mimicking human-human relationships). The AI goal of reproducing human behavior is much like alchemy or time-travel research...a compelling but inappropriate goal. Grander goals include supporting human creativity and enabling human-human communication.
MIT: Don Norman's The Invisible Computer also suggested that a human-centered development process is necessary in designing information appliances. How will Leonardo's Laptop build on Norman's work?
BS: Norman wants user interface designers to be more knowledgeable about markets and the business case, and he wants them to get involved early enough in product development to influence schedules and budgets. I agree, but want even more. I want user interface designers to think more grandly about human needs and become the bright shining source of innovation. Interface designers should be proposing new classes of products, not just evaluating and refining someone else's technology.
MIT: Some of the ideas presented in Leonardo's Laptop, such as InfoDoors and
WebBushes, echo visions in a science fiction book or movie. How receptive do you think people will be to technology becoming such a huge part of their lives?
BS: Everyone needs to be alert to the harmful aspects of technology, so that designers produce truly elegant products that facilitate rather than disrupt. Designers succeed best when they understand users better and when they respect human needs for relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. Effective technologies often become "invisible," to use Don Norman's phrase...and they might become "calm," to use Marc Weiser's phrase. Technology is a huge part of our lives - from the synthetic fibers in our clothes, to the steel in our buildings, to the medicines we take. Electronic technologies are still novel, so we notice them more often. But like many successful tools, they will become part of our surroundings, and we will use them if they are comprehensible, predictable, and controllable.
MIT: Who are the most underserved users as things stand now?
BS: Of course, poorly educated, low-income users stand to gain the most, but every user will be able to be more creative more often if user interfaces are improved.
MIT: Leonardo's visions took years to realize. Do you feel that the technological advances you outline here will suffer that fate as well?
BS: I'm not as clever as Leonardo, so my ideas may be less visionary, although more immediately implementable. I prefer to shape the near future as I have done with the visual interface for the link in 1983. It was a small idea, but it had a big impact in helping make the Web an attractive environment. I believe technology should not be mystifying or exotic; rather it should be comprehensible, predictable, controllable, and delightful.
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* Leonardo's Laptop was just published by the MIT Press. For more information about the book, see http://mitpress.mit.edu/main/feature/leonardoslaptop/index.html
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