Category: Articles

Securitization for Sustainability of People and Place

By on August 4th, 2023 in Articles, Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

The purpose of this special issue is to explore and address complex securitization-related challenges, from a broader perspective and across various dimensions and sectors, that transcend disciplinary boundaries, focusing on the role of technology relevant to the securitization of people and place, while also considering the transdisciplinarity and the socio-historical originals of securitization.

The Role of Early Social Development in Networking and “Serendipity”

By on July 21st, 2023 in Articles, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, President's Message, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

It was a wonderful experience for me to live all of these events and realize later how everything is really connected. Where will new generations of kids get their “social skills” developed, considering that most of their social relations and interactions happen virtually through their phones or computers while avoiding in-person interactions?

SSIT/CSIT Co-Founder Stephen H. Unger Dies

By on July 15th, 2023 in Articles, Blog Posts, Ethics, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Stephen H. Unger, one of the founders of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology, Life Fellow of the IEEE, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Columbia University, champion of engineering ethics, and a prominent figure within SSIT, has died at the age of 92.

BOOK REVIEW: The Smart Wife: Why Siri, Alexa, and Other Smart Home Devices Need a Feminist Reboot

By on May 23rd, 2023 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Book Reviews, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Strengers, an Associate Professor of Digital Technology at Monash University, and Kennedy, a postdoc at RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, argue that if we proceed down the current path of making our digital assistants, fembots, gynoids, and voice-activated devices look, sound, and/or behave like simulacra of women, we risk reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes in ways that could rebound on real women.

Roba Abbas Appointed New Co-Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society

By on May 13th, 2023 in Articles, Blog Posts, Social Implications of Technology, SSIT Announcements

The IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) announces the selection of Roba Abbas of the University of Wollongong, Australia, as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society (TTS), beginning May 9, 2023.

BOOK REVIEW: Atomic Doctors: Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

By on May 1st, 2023 in Articles, Book Reviews, Environment, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Dr. Nolan and his colleagues were responsible for developing standards to protect against radiation exposure in the laboratory and during the Trinity Test in July 1945. The physicians were continually frustrated by their inability to convince the military about the dangers of radiation but “there is considerable evidence to suggest that the doctors were ever mindful of potential legal consequences and careful to take precautions to protect themselves and the military from future litigation.”

Book Review: Social Engineering: How Crowdmasters, Phreaks, Hackers, and Trolls Created a New Form of Manipulative Communication

By on April 15th, 2023 in Articles, Book Reviews, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Social media companies have intentionally created platforms that actively spread disinformation. What can we do to protect our society against disinformation? A good place to start would be limiting how large and powerful these social media platforms can get.

IEEE HTB / SSIT DL – 28 March 10am ET – Co-designing Ethical Interventions in Resource Constrained Environments

By on March 27th, 2023 in Articles, Ethics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

The IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board Ad Hoc Committee on SIGHT Best Practices is cooperating with a number of IEEE OUs…  Read More

Teenager student doing a presentation in the classroom

“It Sets Boundaries Making Your Life Personal and More Comfortable”: Understanding Young People’s Privacy Needs and Concerns

By on March 17th, 2023 in Articles, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Privacy & Security, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Young people’s unique understandings and perspectives are often not considered in debates and discussions around privacy and security. This article outlines a youth-centric notion of digital privacy and guiding principles around privacy developed by young people from Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Ghana, and Slovenia.

A 13-year-old girl is using her smartphone in the dark room.

Toxic Technology

By on March 16th, 2023 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Communication Technology, Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Technology has always been about more than simply a route to increased productivity and economic growth; technology also provides the opportunity to enhance, enrich, and empower—basically, to improve shared qualitative values or people’s quality of life (however that is measured). On the flip side, technology also provides the opportunity to develop and project organizational control, which itself can be weaponized to quantitatively determine human value as an asset to that organization, or to reinforce asymmetric power relationships.

Data Feminism

By on February 24th, 2023 in Articles, Book Reviews, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

In Data Feminism, authors Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein do not merely deal with data. They pair data with feminism. Here, feminism is deployed as a “shorthand for the diverse and wide-ranging projects that name and challenge sexism and other forces of oppression, as well as those which seek to create more just, equitable, and livable futures.”