Research as Resistance: Recognizing and Reconsidering HCI's Role in Technology Hype Cycles

Abstract: The history of information technology development has been characterized by consecutive waves of boom and bust, as new technologies come to market, fuel surges of investment, and then stabilize towards maturity. However, in recent decades, the acceleration of such technology hype cycles has resulted in the prioritization of massive capital generation at the expense of longterm sustainability, resulting in a cascade of negative social, political, and environmental consequences. Despite the negative impacts of this pattern, academic research, and in particular HCI research, is not immune from such hype cycles, often contributing substantial amounts of literature to the discourse surrounding a wave of hype. In this paper, we discuss the relationship between technology and capital, offer a critique of the technology hype cycle using generative AI as an example, and finally suggest an approach and a set of strategies for how we can counteract such cycles through research as resistance.