Stanford CS547 HCI Seminar | Winter 2026 | Computational Ecosystems

Why It Matters

Redesigning technical ecosystems, not just individual tools, enables HCI to solve entrenched human problems and embed values directly into technology, driving more meaningful and efficient outcomes.

Key Takeaways

• Align technology design with personal values to address unmet human needs
• Redesign entire technical ecosystems, not just tools, for systemic change
• Community-informed planning cuts conference scheduling time dramatically by orders
• Flexible coordination pings volunteers opportunistically, boosting local service efficiency
• Opportunistic collective experiences create richer remote social connections

Summary

The talk explores how computational ecosystems can be reshaped to align HCI work with personal values, moving beyond incremental tool improvements toward systemic redesign. The speaker argues that many persistent human problems stem from entrenched processes rather than missing technology, and that rethinking the entire technical ecosystem is essential.

Key insights include three lessons: (1) current approaches hit fundamental limits that better tools alone cannot solve; (2) a new approach must change how we do things, not just the tools we use; (3) redesigning the surrounding ecosystem can achieve breakthroughs without radical hardware changes. Examples span conference scheduling, local crowd‑based services, and remote social interaction.

In practice, community‑informed planning engaged 1,500 participants, slashing conference scheduling effort by an order of magnitude and exposing hidden conflicts. Flexible coordination, demonstrated by the “height or weight” system, pings passers‑by at optimal moments, delivering near‑optimal local services. Opportunistic Collective Experiences (OCEs) let friends share sunsets or stories in real time, fostering deeper connections than scrolling feeds.

These cases illustrate a shift from tool‑centric design to ecosystem‑centric thinking, suggesting that future HCI research should prioritize processes, community input, and mixed‑initiative interfaces. By embedding values into the fabric of technical ecosystems, designers can create more humane, efficient, and socially enriching technologies.

Original Description

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March 6, 2026

This lecture covers:

• Advancing human values through integrative computing and changing practice

• Examples of computational ecosystems built over the last decade that transform how we plan, coordinate, connect, learn, and innovate

• Recent efforts to support human practices and human experiences computationally

• Thoughts on why we need computational ecosystems, especially if we intend to not only meet our consequentialist aims but to deepen our engagement in intrinsically valuable human activities

To follow along with the seminar schedule, visit: https://hci.stanford.edu/

Haoqi Zhang is an associate professor in Computer Science and Design at Northwestern University, where he also holds a courtesy appointment in Learning Sciences.