How Do Future Visions Shape the Field of Human-Computer Interaction?

Visions for the future of computing, such as those on Ubiquitous Computing or Tangible Interfaces, are highly cited and frequently used in teaching. Yet, we know little about the practical value of these visions for research on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) or how HCI researchers engage with them individually and collectively. To address this gap, we conducted a survey with 172 HCI researchers. We identified key benefits and pitfalls as well as specific uses of visions by researchers. Researchers appreciate how visions guide us, drive us, and initiate new fields. Simultaneously, researchers acknowledge how visions create hype, restrict our creativity, and make us disregard real-world problems. Based on these insights, we derive tensions related to the pursuit of visions and discuss critical reading practices. Our paper offers a metascientific account of visions in the HCI field along with tools for critical reflection when engaging with them.