Our Work
Learn about how we work with a hypothetical example and links to prior work.
An Example
The following is a hypothetical case that demonstrates the kinds of problems Humility Technology can address, and how:
Background
Ballaste was a company hired to create a mobile game based on a popular cartoon and gaming franchise. They were chosen due to their prior experience with creating a GPS/location-based mobile game. Users were meant to play Ballaste’s new game, Armatuff Zone, with their phones, while on the go, interacting with other players, but also virtual landmarks placed in real life locations by Ballaste’s algorithm. Landmarks could provide in-game rewards and fun challenges, serving as major points of interest for players to physically visit. The algorithm placed landmarks based on data gathered from their previous mobile game, and based on neighborhood population density and foot-traffic data.
A Problem
Unfortunately, Ballaste’s algorithm distributed Armatuff Zone landmarks unfairly, as some players from marginalized communities pointed out. The data Ballaste was using distributed in-game rewards along racist and red-lined city planning. Communities previously overlooked for public-works development and walkability were also being overlooked for Armatuff Zone points of interest. Ballaste’s software engineering unintentionally cemented historically racist city planning into their game design - with both Ballaste and Armatuff Zone players to suffer for the mistake.
Underlying Injustice
Although unintentional, Ballaste was providing their users an unequal amount of fun, based on their neighborhood, and on historical racism. On the surface, addressing racism might not seem like a mobile game company’s responsibility, but it certainly posed a problem for them, as well as an opportunity to generate brand goodwill, and new customer segments. Designing with justice in mind would mean not only navigating but, in a small way, correcting the racist history of city planning - and such an approach could generate multiple kinds of value for Ballaste.
Enter, Humility
Humility Technology was hired to help correct the problem. Interviews and surveys revealed the disappointment of the few players who were at least an hour away from the nearest landmark. Users were invited to co-design sessions with game designers, to consider alternative algorithms for deciding the location of landmarks. Designers and users arrived at a reasonable solution of diversifying in-game rewards - low density neighborhoods would receive some in-game resources, high density neighborhoods would receive other kinds of resources which were equal in value. Users compromised with designers, and they settled on a solution that would satisfy users and create a more fair environment, while not requiring a costly revamp of the original game.
AfterMath
Afterwards, Ballaste measured the impact of the design change in terms of expanded customer segments, customer satisfaction, and increased user engagement. Humility designed a survey to assess how users felt about the distribution of in-game resources. Humility also conducted a series of training sessions with game designers and engineers about distributive justice, capabilities justice, and integrating justice into design, so that Ballaste could feel better prepared to create value with justice in their next product.
Edible Engineering Education
We are currently piloting a bioengineering syllabus as remedial education for a New Mexico middle school. Students work with Arduinos, soil kits, and modern permaculture methods to learn useful science, math, and design. The pedagogy validates their pre-existing agriculture knowledge, and develops their tools for fighting inequity, in their local food systems, and in a marginalizing national education system.
Twelve Tales of Engineering in the "Real World"
As part of the Capstone to Work (C2W) project out of Virginia Tech, President Chris Gewirtz investigated the stories and lived experiences of new engineers, who balance their desire to change the world with their need to create value for corporations. You can read the thesis here: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/104897
Hurricane Harvey Ethics Analysis
With partner Ramon Benitez, through interviews with engineers who personally lived through Hurricane Harvey in Houston, TX, we performed an analysis of the events of the disaster, highlighting ethical responsibilities and failures. You can view our report here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qw1JJZc4hMA3MVCGQmiuKTUuSNTvJoHF/view?usp=sharing