Long ago, when people imagined what the future would look like, some prognosticators thought that robots might one day be in charge.
While this has not come to pass, what is apparent is that computers have become an extension of human beings, and that much more can be done to smoothen the interaction between technology and humans.
This is a view that Tamas Makany, Associate Professor of Communication Management (Practice) at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, has held for much of the past two decades.
When he was a PhD candidate in cognitive psychology at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, he grew interested in how technology enabled human-computer interactions and productivity.
He began observing the intersection of technology, design and business, and has since sought to discover how technology can help us learn, play, communicate and make better choices in life.
He started doing this by looking at video games.
“I was struck by one particular statistic that said the average American teenager spends four times longer on playing video games than on their homework,” said Associate Professor Makany, who left the UK in 2009 to do his postdoc in Educational Technology at Stanford University.
“So when I was approached by an educational non-profit focused on how we could transform commercial games into meaningful learning experiences, and really marry the joy of playing video games with learning, I jumped on board.”
This move launched his decade-long career in Silicon Valley, where he later worked at companies such as LeapFrog, Microsoft and Netflix. It allowed him to delve into user experience (UX), human-centered design, and design research and apply these concepts in product innovation practices.
While working for tech companies, Associate Professor Makany, who is a Hungarian-American dual citizen, noted that the conversations were not always all that technical.
While there were some geeky discussions, many others were “really about how do we solve the human needs that drive technological innovation”. And this is something that has continued with his current work.
“This is what I'm really trying to pass on to my students at SMU and what I'm trying to advocate in industry conversations and in my own research as well,” he says. “We want to focus on the ‘human’ part of human-computer interaction, not so much on the ‘computer’ part.”
Associate Professor Makany’s latest research looks at conversational design of artificial intelligence (AI) agents, such as chatbots and voice assistants. “There are amazing technological innovations taking place in the world of AI right now but what is not clear, frankly, is how humans and machines should communicate with each other. These new, intelligent systems will need to be more human-centric in their design,” he added.
Associate Professor Makany acknowledges that one of the reasons he returned to academia was to be free from corporate non-disclosure agreements and to be able to share research findings in this field.
Back when he was just a junior researcher at Stanford, more than 10 years ago, he had been “impatient” to improve the lives of the underserved and underprivileged through technology - hence his foray into tech.
Now, at this point of his career, he feels that he can make his greatest impact through his students, among whom will be entrepreneurs and innovators.
“I think this kind of human-centered design thinking is important from early on,” he said. “I feel like I can contribute more and have a greater impact on industry and innovation by shaping this mindset in my students. It's just really delightful to see that happening here.”
Right now, the father of three young children is aware that excessive technology use, such as too much screen time or addictive gaming habits, can lead to potential negative effects that parents and people in general are concerned about.
“You can’t take technology away from our kids, because if you do that, you do a disservice to their future readiness,” he said. “It’s a very interesting and delicate balance. Our children are actually able to learn more about the world in ways we never imagined.”
While he imposes some time limits on technology use for both his children and himself, he also recommends that parents try to be a part of their children’s interactions with technology, because this can help foster closer familial ties.
At LKCSB, Associate Professor Makany teaches undergraduate-level courses on Interaction Design Communication and Design Thinking as part of the new Data, Design and Communication Track of the Communication Management major. He also teaches postgraduate Design Thinking courses to MBA and EMBA candidates, as well as in Executive Development programs.
He joined the school in July 2020, employing a hybrid-teaching format. Since the pandemic has upturned teaching paradigms, he has had to create novel ways to engage his students.
After finding it extra challenging to hold their attention during morning classes, he started a new tradition that has made him ‘Twitter-famous’.
“We start every single class by dancing together to a trendy 30-second TikTok video,” he explained, adding that home-based learners had to turn on their cameras and join in.
“The students all giggle about it because I make fun of myself but I think this is the way to connect with them. We have a different [and better] sort of rapport after I show them genuine vulnerability.”
Somebody even started a Twitter handle, the Dancing Professor, which attracted several hundred viewers to a video where the whole class can be seen moving to the rhythms of a hit K-pop song.
His LKCSB colleagues also noticed that the students appreciated the ‘Dancing Professor’ and they nominated him to the SMU Innovative Teacher Award in 2021.
Outside of teaching, Associate Professor Makany, sits on the advisory boards of various professional organizations, start-ups, and non-profits. He is an executive committee member of the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS), a multidisciplinary chamber in Singapore that facilitates collaboration between design and business communities.
Within SMU, he works closely with the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (IIE) to mentor tech start-ups and to inspire a new generation of design thinkers in Singapore. Together with his LKCSB colleague, Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) Chiraphol New Chiyachantana, he is currently working on a book project to capture the entrepreneurial and personal stories of start-up founders from some of the finalists of the 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition, organized by IIE.
Associate Professor Makany is very proud of the partnerships and the impact he's creating, both inside and outside the classroom. “I measure my success by how many new ideas I can facilitate in those classroom discussions and how many students will take those further once the class is over. And that's really what motivates me,” he says.
