Technological mediation in 5 min

This animation provides you with a summary of what you learned so far about how we could understand human-technology relations.

The phenomenological approach helps us to overcome the radical split between subjects (humans) and objects (technological artefacts). Technologies are not part of the world but part of our relations with the world: they are mediators that let us experience the world and be present in the world in specific ways.

Different types of mediation relations can be identified. Don Ihde talked about embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity, and background relations. But today, there are configurations of humans and technologies that are more intimate than embodiment, while others have a more powerful contextual influence than being just a background. I therefore added the fusion and immersion relation to this list.

This technological mediation of practices and perception has a profound impact. It charges users, designers, and policy makers with the responsibility to get actively engaged in shaping this impact. In week 3 you will learn about the ethical dimension of technological mediation.

This animation was created by Rachel Kremer.