Human design: wearable computers for human networking

Computer technology has mostly focused either on the isolated individual, or has treated the person as a clueless extra wandering in a computer-controlled environment. Researchers seem to have forgotten that people are social animals, and that the quality of their lives is defined by their roles in human organizations. Instead of inventing technology for the individual as an isolated entity, why not invent systems that support people´s organizational roles? Or even invent new types of organizations? My colleagues and I are inventing technology that can potentially produce organizations that are more creative and efficient, and that better support the individual. Using wearable computers that actively analyze face-to-face interactions within the workplace we can extract conversational features, identify participants, define context, and determine content. By aggregating this information, high-potential collaborations and expertise within the organization can be identified, information movement and decisionmaking can be augmented, and social networks reinforced. Examples using this technology to initiate productive connections are shown, and privacy concerns are addressed.