Never mind the bollocks, I wanna be anarCHI: a manifesto for punk HCI

Abstract

This paper presents two fingers to the HCI establishment. We reject the status quo that defines what language and forms are appropriate “contributions” for this staid “community” of quasiscientific poseurs. We argue that CHI in particular is a tool that serves to reinforce the political and ideological status quo, favouring sell-out researchers wielding arcane verbiage and p-values, all paid for by corporate and government interests that reward the building of systems that distract, subdue and subjugate. We present our manifesto for Punk HCI, which celebrates principles of anarchy and freedom in exploring the impact of technology on human culture, values, social structures and psychology. We encourage research motivated by passion and dissent over patents