[Petit Fours #414] On intimate technology, Question Zero, and things that go
Hi, everyone! Here comes the final Petit Fours of 2024:
#1 Ending the year on a high note, I’m very happy to share a pre-print of our forthcoming paper Shared Use of Intimate Technology: A Large-Scale Qualitative Study on the Use of Natural Cycles as a Digital Contraceptive. This study has taken years to conduct, so I'm super proud of both the end result and our persistent team! Here’s the abstract: “We present a large-scale, qualitative interview study that examines how an intimate technology within reproductive health comes to be chosen and trusted as a mode of contraception and how its use is shared between partners. We conducted 133 semi-structured interviews with primary users of Natural Cycles, focusing specifically on its use as a digital contraceptive. Our interpretive analysis, first, sheds light on perceptions of risks and benefits, along with how, and by whom, the decision to adopt Natural Cycles got made. Second, we discuss participants’ and their partners’ gradual development of trust in the system, and how this intertwines with interpersonal trust. Third, we consider the shared use of Natural Cycles, including partner involvement in temperature tracking, the sharing of intimate data, and navigating specific choices and risks regarding sex and contraception. We make a primarily empirical contribution to Computer Supported Cooperative Work(CSCW) research on shared uses of technology and the sharing of intimate data, and highlight avenues for future work to foster understanding of intimate technologies and their shared use in relational settings.”
#2 The Swedish AI Commission’s Strategic Roadmap Dodges Question Zero is a thoughtful response to the recent launch of a Swedish national roadmap for artificial intelligence (AI) engagement. In it, Simon Lindgren, Jason Tucker, and Virginia Dignum ask us to consider the fundamentals: “It is time we zoom out and see that technology is not an uncontrollable force like the weather; it does not happen to us—we create it, shape its course, and have the power to make choices about its direction and impact. We must pose Question Zero: What are we trying to accomplish with AI, and why?“
#3 For those interested in making their research accessible to broader publics, the Forskning & Framsteg magazine offers a nice guide and an excellent, in-depth podcast episode (both in Swedish).
#4 For something quite different, this article by cartoonist Chris Ware has been lingering in my mind ever since I read it: Writing in Pictures: Richard Scarry and the art of children’s literature.
-A