Co-Designing Socio-Technical Interventions with Skilled Trade Workers

This paper lays out an approach to co-designing Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enhanced smart hand tools with skilled trade workers employed at a local municipality. Skilled trade workers contribute to society by building the infrastructure upon which the public depends. In addition, these technical interventions offer an opportunity for workers to benefit from the data they generate via smart hand tools, potentially creating a new empowerment dynamic with employers. Therefore, we consider technologies that support skilled trade workers in performing their work effectively, safely, and with increased levels of autonomy to be considered Public Interest Technologies (PIT). Interdisciplinary research is underway that aligns these approaches with Public Interest Design (PID) principles which informs researchers' desire to explore how emerging technologies - data cooperatives, blockchain, smart contracts, and data dividends - can further smart hand tools' empowerment dynamic. Future participatory design efforts may deliver additional insights and further impact technology deployment.