The two hundred years have seen massive shifts in the propagation of information throughout the world, from the telegraph, to the telephone, to television, and finally the internet. Each has brought a new dimension of communication, and thus the ability to condense and share information in different ways. Radio and television seem to have done a great deal to blur the line between art and information. The internet goes even further, allowing the blurring between art, information, and tools. To me, this is the new dimension that I think Artful Design can reconcile.
The access that the internet provides individuals demands a new set of rules for design. I'm not so sure about true Kantian categorical imperatives alongside design, but I think that there are at least expectations and boundaries that arise somewhat naturally from a medium. Artful design suggests that we should design for connection between people, something that the internet allows unprecedented opportunity for, yet societal trends seem to show increasing division. Some of this can be accounted for by the design of our society, but, the internet is not blameless. It seems transparent to me that good intentions are not enough; perhaps there are more complex imperatives that arise.
Take designing for connection. It's not enough to simply design for a connection between two individuals being made, we must consider how that connection is mediated. What are its effects? Connecting white supremacists to rural conservatives has definitely been a negative for the stability of our world. Furthermore, those white supremacists likely connect with dozens of people of color every day on the internet, yet remain completely unchanged in their views. Despite this, studies show (though I can't cite one now) that it is regular contact that is the most effective in changing racists views. I cannot understand this as just the product of a single algorithm (outside the general algorithm of capitalism, maybe). How can people on the internet be in contact every day, in connection every day, and only become more fearful, more entrenched in their views? We can point just blame at many (and we should) but perhaps it just detracts from a larger, more fundamental problem. Honestly, I'm not sure. For me, this is the challenge of categorical imperatives of design; the human experience is so complex and varied that finding them is very challenging.