Thick HCI-Thoughts on the Intersections of HCI and the Social Sciences

In this talk, I will briefly outline my journey as a social anthropologist in the field of HCI. I will touch upon my early career research projects tracing the evolution of the anthropological lens in understanding and broadening technology adoption in the context of developing nations. Having spent the last decade doing ethnographic fieldwork on the use of new information technologies in India, I’ve encountered time and again a host of media practices that flagrantly defied stereotypical understanding and framing of ICT use in the global south displaying rich, informed and focused use of mobile and internet technologies.
I will bring together stories about crafting technologies anchored in low-cost but ubiquitous channels in the ‘developing’ world. As mobile technologies move beyond urban areas and the upper class who can afford them, it will be critical to see how the use of ICTs provides an opportunity to question, discuss and modify some of the basic premises of technology use in development contexts.

Bio-Note: Dr. Nimmi Rangswamy
I am currently Associate Professor at the Kohli Centre on Intelligent Systems, Indian Institute of Information Technology, IIIT, Hyderabad. I will be bringing an anthropological lens in understanding the impacts of AI research and praxis. I teach courses at the intersections of society and technology and a foundational course in Human Computer Interaction. I am currently researching the domain of work automation and socio-economic impacts on the outsourced job segments in India.
Formerly, I was a senior research scientist and lead the Human Interactions research area at the Xerox Research Center India. I worked in the building of technologies in the areas of consumer-centric heath care and urban mobility. Previously, my job at Microsoft Research was a combination of theoretical analysis and ethnographic field research to understand technology use in developing countries. These are studies of patterns of technology adoption in various social contexts and spaces in India, ranging from middle-class consumption of domestic media, the business models of cyber cafes and the use of mobile internet and Facebook among urban slum youth
You can find my publications and academic engagements here https://sites.google.com/a/iith.ac.in/dr-nimmi-rangaswamy/home