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These strong ideals prescribe a presentation of things as useful tools through design and a withdrawal of aspects of their functionality and complexity. Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, we trace this \u2018withdrawal program\u2019 as it has persisted in the face of increasing computational complexity. Currently, design is in a dilemma where computational products can be seen as brilliantly designed and engaging to use yet can also be considered very problematic in how they support hidden agendas and often seem less than trustworthy. In this article, we analyse factors shaping this emergent ethical dilemma and reveal the concept of<jats:italic>a widening rift<\/jats:italic>between what computational<jats:italic>things actually are and do<\/jats:italic>and<jats:italic>the ways in which they are presented as things for use<\/jats:italic>. Against this backdrop, we argue that there is a need for a new orientation in design programs to adequately address this deepening rupture between the aesthetics and ethics in the design of computational things.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s00146-021-01279-w","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,23]],"date-time":"2021-09-23T13:55:22Z","timestamp":1632405322000},"page":"227-243","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["The widening rift between aesthetics and ethics in the design of computational things"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"38","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7061-875X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sabrina","family":"Hauser","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0976-670X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Johan","family":"Redstr\u00f6m","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0566-2527","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heather","family":"Wiltse","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,23]]},"reference":[{"issue":"4","key":"1279_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1080\/01972243.2017.1318327","volume":"33","author":"C Alaimo","year":"2017","unstructured":"Alaimo C, Kallinikos J (2017) Computing the everyday: social media as data platforms. 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