Technoableism and the pursuit of conscientious design
For Miyuki Tanaka, disability is a perspective that can redefine the world. As an independent curator and producer with a background in International Relations and Disability Studies, she has produced a variety of exhibitions, performances and projects to interpret the way disability is perceived across diverse contexts. Last October, she joined WDO in Tokyo for the 33rd World Design Assembly, where she presented insights from her work at the intersection of technology, design and activism. Here, she shares more about her exploration of “technoableism” and its impact on the pursuit of more conscientious design practices.
While discourse around inclusion, accessibility and ableism in design have become more prevalent in the last few years, technoableism is arguably a newer consideration. The term, which was first coined by Dr. Ashley Shew, Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech, revolves around the idea that technology holds the potential to normalize disabled people.
“Technology has already surpassed the limits of human capacity, and we find ourselves grappling with the accelerated urban development and media saturation facilitated by technology. Behind the progress supported by a handful of wealthy individuals, industry insiders, and technology enthusiasts, there is a reality where many people have stopped thinking, desired less, and are living almost like robots.”
For Ms. Tanaka, who has spent more than a decade on disability-focused work, there is no doubt that technology has evolved our daily lives in efficient, productive, and functional ways and “brought benefits to marginalized individuals, enabling their participation in society where it might have been challenging before.” In Japan for example, the telepresence robot OriHime enables individuals facing physical limitations due to disabilities or illnesses to share experiences with others and even pursue work opportunities.
On the flip side however, our positioning of technology as a cure-all for disability can also do real damage to how we perceive, support and design for disabled people. “This belief in the transformative power of technology tends to endorse the elimination of disability as a positive goal, favouring non-disabled ways of life.”
Indeed, there are many who believe that technology now poses an existential threat to humanity. The rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and our increasing reliance on these tools, are shifting how we connect, create and communicate with one another. Technology can really only get us so far in the journey towards inclusion, namely because it is a fundamentally human pursuit. “Those involved in creative pursuits should inherently find interest and significance in approaching things with unconventional ideas and perspectives. It is crucial to retrospectively examine past or ongoing creations and consider how to actively involve those who may have been overlooked.”
According to Ms. Tanaka, understanding and acknowledging technoableism is crucial for designers as it prompts reflection on the potential unintended consequences of their work and “emphasizes the need for conscientious design practices that challenge rather than perpetuate ableist norms.” The end result? A more inclusive and diverse approach in the creation of technologies for disabled individuals.
Many of Ms. Tanaka’s projects are developed with this result in mind. Rules?, her 2021 exhibition at Tokyo’s 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT museum, was created to empower viewers to reclaim agency over the subject of rules by actively engaging with the content. She intentionally crafted pieces that prompted viewers to contemplate the boundaries that separate them into majorities and minorities as well as curated works that questioned the impermanence of rules through the coexistence of diverse individuals.
“As someone who is considered not to have any disabilities and has lived within the majority, I aim to create opportunities for people to be conscious of the fact that rules and societal norms have been constructed by the majority. There are always individuals who feel left behind, and I believe it’s crucial to raise awareness about this through my work.”
Most of us have grown up in a world saturated with ableism, which can make it challenging to identify our internalized biases, biases which then end up influencing our design work. Recognizing that design today encompasses far more than tangible objects to shaping experiences and attitudes, the only way to combat ableism, in both its traditional and technological form, is by “discarding conventional approaches, engaging in reflection, and deconstructing as well as reconstructing our lifestyles and values.”
“It is imperative for us to go beyond our individual interests and redesign a fair world for as many people as possible. The world becomes more interesting not when we are in a position to include someone, but rather when we prepare ourselves to be included.”
Click here to watch Miyuki Tanaka’s presentation at the 33rd World Design Assembly. To learn more about her work, please visit https://miyukitanaka.me/ and follow her @miyukitanaka.
Miyuki Tanaka is an independent curator and producer. Under the theme of “disability as a perspective that redefines the world,” she produces exhibitions, performances, and various projects to interpret the way we perceive expressions with the audience, including people with disabilities.
She’s currently back in Japan after completing her fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council and research as a visiting scholar at the Center for Disability Studies of New York University.
