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Cellphones will offer more services by collecting information about your context. New enabling technologies create new design challenges, of course.

No matter how much the industry tries to avoid annoying customers with its new smart technology, some people will be irritated, predicts Bernard Beck, an emeritus associate professor of sociology at Northwestern University.

“Some people were upset with Amazon making recommendations of what they should read,” said Beck. “The message was fine-tuned to say others who bought this liked that. They made it less condescending, less in your face.”

Technologists need to pay special attention to the interfaces whenever a machine starts advising humans what to do, Beck said.

“There was a while when new cars had little voices that announced when your door wasn’t closed or your seatbelt was unbuckled,” he said. “The car companies found out people didn’t like being scolded by a voice. Now you mostly hear ringtones to remind you to buckle up or close the door.

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