Design Heuristics for Emerging Technologies: AI, Data, & Human-Centered Futures – Considerations for the Rights of Women

Design Heuristics for Emerging Technologies presents a practical framework for evaluating and shaping emerging technologies through six applied heuristic categories: User Controls and Affordances, Accessibility, User Consent, Privacy by Design, Human Factors and Ergonomics, and Transparency. Designed for real-world use, the book offers a structured method for assessing how data-driven systems represent, govern, and impact people.

Centered in women’s health data systems, the book examines how design decisions in AI-powered technologies shape access, autonomy, and institutional outcomes, particularly in high-stakes contexts such as reproductive healthcare. Through case studies—including global policy initiatives and region-specific implementations—Lubin demonstrates how abstract design principles translate into tangible consequences.

Drawing on feminist theory, critical data studies, and design practice, the book moves beyond critique to provide actionable heuristics that can be used by designers, researchers, policymakers, and institutional stakeholders. Rather than proposing a single solution, it offers a flexible evaluative framework adaptable across sectors, regulatory environments, and technological systems.

Design Heuristics for Emerging Technologies is intended for graduate-level study and professional use in design research, technology governance, human-centered systems evaluation, and data ethics. It is suitable for courses, workshops, and institutional review contexts where emerging technologies require structured, accountable design decision-making.