Being Human in the Age of Technology

26 May 2026 - 26 May 2026

Region(s): Waikato

Type(s): presentations

Come along to a free public lecture by Professor Judy Bowen, looking at how technology is embedded into every part of our lives, so what can we do to make certain that it is reliable, usable and safe?

This talk traces a research journey motivated by seemingly simple questions: How do things work? Why do they work? Why don’t they work? How can we make them better? Crucially, how can we be confident that the systems we rely on every day are not only usable, but also behave as expected. When these systems are safety-critical the stakes are even higher, if things go wrong the results may be catastrophic rather than merely inconvenient.

While rigorous formal methods and mathematical models of software can help provide assurance for safety critical systems, they aren’t typically used to consider user interactions and interface design. This talk will describe how understanding human behaviour, capabilities, and limitations provides an essential foundation for the design of interactive systems, particularly in contexts where failure can have serious consequences. Also, how integrating this understanding into formal software development approaches can ensure we design systems that work for real people in real contexts of use. Through examples drawn from medical devices and hazardous outdoor work environments it illustrates how formal software development techniques are most effective when grounded in realistic models of human interaction.

The talk will conclude by returning to the growing area of health technology and the ever-changing nature of technology and its uses, reflecting on how insights gained across diverse domains can inform the next generation of interactive, safety critical systems. Throughout, the emphasis is on bridging disciplines, connecting people, models, and technology, to build systems we can justifiably trust.

About the speaker

Professor Judy Bowen is a Professor in Software Engineering in Au Reikura / School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Waikato. Originally from South Wales, Judy moved to New Zealand in 1999 and completed her MSc and PhD at the University of Waikato, both focussed on the use of formal methods for interactive system design. Her research spans the disciplines of software engineering and human-computer interaction, and focusses on interactive system design, model-driven development and testing, and the impacts of ubiquitous technology, wearable technology and IoT solutions on end-users. She leads the Human-Centred Computing group at the University of Waikato and has run projects on wearable technology in the workplace, medical device design and model-driven development.

Location: Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, The University of Waikato, Gate 2B, Knighton Road Hamilton

For more information and to reserve a seat: www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/professorial-lecture-by-professor-judy-bowen-tickets-1981659232108.