Human Computing, or How to Make Computers More Friendly to People

Conventional computing, focussed upon algorithms or programs, requires processes of abstraction, decisions on function, and exclusion of the user from most of the computation. We shall describe a broader approach to computing we call Empirical Modelling (see www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/modelling). Here the "user" constructs artefacts designed so as to resemble experientially a domain or task of interest. Initially the user is closely, and jointly, constructing with the computer their own idea – or construal – of the domain or problem. The approach has been influenced by the work of William James and offers deeper cognitive support from computing for both the humanities and sciences.