CHIstory

Abstract

How might the world view human-computer interaction a century from now? In this video, set one hundred years in the future, we playfully re-envision the early history of HCI. As the video opens, the Great Usability Cataclysm of 2068 has erased all previous knowledge of HCI. The world has been plunged into an age of darkness where terror, fear, and poor usability reign. Unearthing fragments of previously lost archival footage, a disembodied HCI historian (Jonathan Grudin) introduces a first attempt to reconstruct the history of our field. Pioneering systems like NLS and Sketchpad are reviewed alongside more recent work from CHI and related conferences. The results may surprise and perplex as much as they entertain, but most of all, we hope they inspire reflection on the past and future of our field.