This research expands the phenomenology-inspired branch of human-computer interaction by introducing an original design ethics framework that reconceptualizes user interfaces as service interfaces. This shift toward services is essential for understanding how users have been historically oppressed by designers while interacting with computing systems. Drawing on the critical integration of Peter-Paul Verbeek’s design ethics framework of technology-mediated morality and Georg W. F. Hegel’s ethics of recognition, we examine a particular moment of user oppression: coerced recognition. This refers to the phenomenological-dialectical process in which users are coerced into recognizing themselves as lesser beings in relation to designers when engaging with technology. The proposed design ethics framework not only reveals user oppression but also points toward the possibility of liberation through mutual recognition between users and designers.
This short paper explores G.W.F. Hegel’s account of the master–slave dialectic in an effort to characterize data work outsourced by Big Tech corporations to the Global South as a modern form of slavery. The argument is structured around two pillars. First, I offer an interpretation of Hegel’s influential text, arguing that the emergence and eventual emancipation of servile self-consciousness fundamentally depend on coerced labor—specifically, the labor of giving form to a technical object for the satisfaction of others. I also examine recent critiques of the master– slave dialectic, particularly its role in supporting Hegel’s justification of European racism and colonialism. Second, I extend these insights by examining contemporary cases of generative AI design. Drawing on secondary literature, I assess the extent to which the essential features of the master–slave dialectic resonate with the experiences of data workers who help shape safe digital applications for users. My interest lies in opening pathways for challenging Hegel’s account of emancipation, particularly by suggesting that the oppressed may pursue it through trajectories not predicated on total obedience to the will of others.
Members of the Justice by Design lab are among the chairs of the theme track “Design Philosophy: Amplifying the Unheard” for the next DRS 2026 conference, in Edinburgh. Contributions are invited for broadening design philosophy by questioning its dominant colonial, anthropocentric, and patriarchal foundations and centring on underrepresented perspectives. The theme track aims at amplifying diverse voices and exploring how varied cultural, philosophical, and historical contexts can reshape the field of design philosophy.
DRS2026 is the biennial conference of the Design Research Society and is one of the largest design research conferences in the world. DRS2026 edition will take place in Edinburgh, UK, from June 8-12, 2026 and will encompass paper presentations, workshops, a PhD event, conversations, and labs.
This white paper aims to provide an introduction into design for justice for a wide audience. It also demonstrates ongoing research on this topic by the TU Delft community and to contribute to the exchange of relevant knowledge and expertise. As one of the outcomes of the activities organised for the Delft Design for Values Institute’s annual theme ‘design for justice’, this document includes recommendations on how to foster design for justice. These recommendations are not just relevant for designers, engineers, and academic researchers but also for educators and policy makers.