Closing Plenary Address

Scott McDonald, Time Warner Entertainment

Thursday, 4:30 - 6:00

Learning from Diversity: Interactive TV, Computers and the Frontiers of the Cognitive Sciences

The digital revolution has promoted the convergence of technologies that, before now, have been in separate spheres: television, computers and telephones. Yet the dynamics of humaninteraction with these technologies retain some important differences. Indeed, the early testing of interfaces for interactive television indicates that the "conventional wisdom" derived from work in one sphere may not be wholly applicable to the creation of interfaces in the other spheres. Even after the digital data streams feeding all three technologies converge into one irreducible "atomic" substructure of zeroes and ones, the social contexts in which the three technologies are used may limit the transferability of interface design generalizations across the spheres. The current development scene, though unruly, chaotic, and competitive, offers a unique opportunity to use the diversity of approaches not only to develop optimal user interfaces, but also to advance the formulation of more general theories about human cognition and perception.

Individual tiles do not automatically make a mosaic; they need to be organized to create some picture or design. As we work on our separate and diverse interfaces, we should not fail to meet this larger challenge of theory development.

Scott McDonald is the Director of Research for Time Warner Entertainment, where he is responsible for developing and executing research for the Full Service Network. Dr. McDonald has a background in sociology, and his publications range from an analysis of gentrification on crime rates to a review of cognitive issues in survey response effects. He has taught courses at New York University on the development of communication technologies and their impact on American social, cultural, and political life. His recent writings focus on the implications of digitally switched broadband networks for advertising, media, marketing, polling, and politics. He was the recipient of the President's award from Time, Inc. in 1992 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Advertising Research Foundation.

Keith Instone / instone@acm.org / 95-01-05