As a general rule, technology’s goal is to make our lives easier. Ever since early hominids produced the first stone tools, or painted on cave walls to convey ideas and wisdom to one another, we have preoccupied ourselves with the notion of making things more efficient and enjoyable. What often gets overlooked in these cycles of innovation, however, is the role that inclusive design has played, and should continue to play, in the advancement of humanity.

Inclusive Innovation Throughout History

One of humanity’s greatest leaps forward was the invention of the printing press, from which sprouted many new forms of literature and communication. Pellegrino Turri is widely credited with using the technical precedents of printing machines to build the first typewriter. The inspiration for this development was that he wanted to make it easier for the Countess Fantoni da Fivizzano to communicate with him given that she was blind, which made handwritten letters a challenge. This groundbreaking assistive device not only benefited those with visual impairments, but also became a widely used tool that completely changed the course of written works and information sharing. Every text or email we send is owed, in part, to the origins of inclusive design.

This type of innovation extends to many other technologies which impact our daily lives. Alexander Graham Bell advanced audio engineering by leaps and bounds due to his relationship with the deaf community (though later it emerged that his motivations were not purely altruistic), leading to 30 remarkable inventions, not least of which are the phones we rely on to communicate with each other. Voice-to-text software similarly makes life much easier for those with hearing or dexterity issues, while also powering many tools for the broader population which rely on voice commands or dictation.  Audiobooks and text-to-speech software not only serve vision-impaired readers, but also now reside in digital assistants like Siri and Alexa. Needless to say, the world has also benefitted greatly from designs which enhance mobility, such as ramps, curb cuts, and elevators.

Inclusive design isn’t just limited to accessibility, though. It also encompasses the recognition and incorporation of wide-ranging knowledge sources and audiences. For example, Inuit communities from the Arctic and subarctic regions have long since mastered eco-friendly heating through the unique structural design of igloos, and earthen architecture — the use of mud and clay in particular — is experiencing a revival in regions around the world as a sustainable method of construction and climate control. We also have the Inca to thank for terrace farming, uphill irrigation, and freeze-drying, as well as the native peoples of North America, who developed groundbreaking medicinal inventions, such as pain relievers and syringes, among many other tools whose origins were either overlooked or intentionally misattributed by European colonizers. In addition to diverse cultural knowledge, humanity has progressed in large part due to the contributions of women and the LGBTQ+ community, who granted us rocket propulsion systems, data visualization techniques, and wireless communication, to name just a few. And in an increasingly globalized world, intersectionality has proved more powerful than ever, as evidenced by the women of Bolivia’s Aymara communities, who have used their meticulously detailed traditional weaving skills in collaboration with a cardiologist to create life-saving heart implants that are more financially and physically attainable than previous models.

Without these crucial motivations and considerations, the world would not be what it is today. Inclusion has always been a key ingredient for innovation, whether overtly or implicitly, and by placing more explicit emphasis on inclusion, we can generate new discoveries which allow everyone to collectively flourish.

The Future of Inclusive Innovation

There are many perspectives on how to build inclusivity into our technological undertakings, and they of course vary across domains, geographies, and demographics, as any fruitful discourse should. Those differences in opinion contribute to a thoughtfully nuanced framing of how we can approach and foster inclusivity, but there are a few themes which frequently appear that can help inform a range of efforts.

1.     Meaningful, Representative Intersections

The Aymara women’s contributions to cardiological advancement are a great example of where unexpected overlaps in knowledge can produce significant shifts in both ideation and execution. As Frans Johansson elucidated in The Medici Effect, many of the most substantial leaps forward for humankind, from the Renaissance to the modern era, have been the result of cross-pollinating seemingly unrelated realms of expertise. For example, some researchers are now exploring the role that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) can play in helping neurodivergent users navigate the world, which could help inform the way that broader audiences communicate verbally/non-verbally or interact with stimuli in these novel formats, especially if these platforms ultimately become ubiquitous. Such intersections are significant inspiration for new solutions, and should be accompanied by ethical considerations of how novel technologies are represented and utilized. This of course means giving credit where it’s due and, even more fundamentally, building accurate representation into the design cycle to ensure it truthfully reflects the needs of multiple audiences and minimizes negative unintended consequences.

2.     Design For vs. Design With

While the desire to generate solutions to issues that impact underserved communities is noble, it is important for innovators to differentiate between designing for their users and designing with those audiences they seek to serve (as well as any other stakeholders who may be indirectly impacted). Failure to do so can lead to mismatched solutions which erode their intended impact or even worsen the original issue, as with the oft-cited PlayPump case, which seemed like a novel approach to water accessibility until the implementation revealed that it created added burdens for local women. Co-designing with one’s users requires gathering input throughout the entire design cycle, from research to ideation to implementation to testing. By embedding stakeholder input into each stage of innovation, designers and technologists can generate novel approaches, limit biases, foster user buy-in, and reduce the risk of creating an ill-fitting solution that misidentifies the need, therefore enabling a reliable market fit. For more information on how participatory design can be executed in different contexts, this article from the MIT D-Lab offers some helpful advice.

3.     Continuous Evaluation and Improvement

Any endeavor should have a robust system for evaluation and impact measurement which extends beyond the design cycle, but this is especially true for technological innovation. Modern technologies by their very nature have the ability to influence systems — and by extension, millions of individuals — in unforeseen ways. Yet given the rush to “move fast and break things” while beating competition to the next great innovation, they also experience an unfortunate lack of scrutiny and revision. Inclusive tech must follow through on the initial, exciting rollout by actively seeking feedback, listening to detractors, and incorporating diverse responses into their updates and further iterations. As Cathy O’Neil argues in Weapons of Math Destruction, predictive algorithms meant to increase economic access can exacerbate inequalities by using biased data which perpetuates racial or gender biases, ultimately excluding certain users and running counter to its mission, unless mechanisms for perpetual impact analysis and readjustment based on those results are put in place. Continuous improvement does not always mean uncovering flaws, or signify that the innovator did something wrong (though missteps do happen and should be acknowledged). Often society simply evolves and begins to interact with a solution in a manner that couldn’t have been anticipated, which affords the opportunity to adapt and verify that the solution continues to meet users’ needs, simultaneously supporting its longevity.

These three key components are by no means an exhaustive list of best practices, but hopefully they can serve as a helpful starting point that innovators can consider as they search for new ways to change the world for the better. We have all experienced the benefits of inclusive design, from centuries past to modernity, and those efforts continue in inspiring forms. Neurodivergent tech can allow us to think differently or communicate nonverbally, machine learning can allow us to envision more informed and culturally relevant outcomes, virtual reality can help us build empathy and reduce real-world violence — the list is as long as our collective imagination is broad. It goes without saying that technology has the power to change our very modes of existence, but with inclusive principles at the heart of each innovation, we can ensure that our future will be one which everyone can look forward to.

About the Author:

Kelsey Burhans is a member of the 2022 cohort of Harvard’s Master in Design Engineering program, which leverages interdisciplinary approaches to design innovative solutions for complex systemic issues. Her work focuses on the ethical and inclusive use of emerging technologies to generate positive social change. Before joining Harvard to help launch the Business Analytics Program (HBAP) in 2018, Kelsey’s professional work and Fulbright research were dedicated to augmenting the impact of social enterprises, particularly those at the intersection between technology and financial inclusion in marginalized communities. In addition, Kelsey is a Graduate Student Fellow with the Social Impact Review.