No, Seriously, F*ck Engagement: Building a More Human Web (*Content Warning)

*Content Warning – this presentation contains material that may be triggering. Please be aware this talk includes references to genocide, hate speech, and profanity.

MLK said, “We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society.” As practitioners, what is our role in that shift? We’ll explore that question by looking at how “thing-oriented” design differs from “person-oriented” design. How might engagement, or our definition of it, perpetuate the very systems of oppression we dreamed the web might end? What if entering into a dialogue with Indigenous design could allow us to imagine a web that cares about people more than it cares about money? These are big swings, but it’s about time we took them.