Category: Blog Posts

Does access to science communication inevitably lead to greater public understanding of science, its discoveries, and their impact? Does access to online data sets inevitably lead to full comprehension of available information by scientists?

SSIT’s new IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society will launch in March 2020. Information for Authors and General Call for Papers are here.

On that day, at 2:26 p.m., Eastern time, from Cape Kennedy,  Lunar Orbiter 1, the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon, was launched. Four days later, at 8:43 a.m., Eastern time, the spaceship successfully entered an orbit around the Moon, becoming the first human-made object to orbit a heavenly body other than Earth.

While “Ubering” was acquiring cachet as a verb and as a routine rite of passage for millennials (the heaviest users of the service), the company was besieged by problems. Some came squarely on the back of a general lack of ethics, or care for consequences.

The word “regulation” has been demonized by those who back an unfettered world of sink-or-swim markets. Yet the need for order – not to mention the defense of the defenseless – is essential to a free and functioning society.

SSIT launches a new publication: IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society

The assumption has been that consumers will jump at hype. Yet here at the end of 2018, it can be argued that the venality of tech giants has deflated the very hype cycle upon which those companies depend.

Dr. Philip Koopman of Carnegie Mellon University received the IEEE SSIT Carl Barus Award for Outstanding Service in the Public Interest on November 13, 2018, in Washington, DC.

Portal says that privacy is “built into every layer.” Despite the company’s reassurances about privacy, users are backing away.

Originally published in The Engineering Ethics blog, August 6, 2018.  In a recent New York Times opinion piece, science journalist Melinda Wenner…  Read More

What are the potential consequences of mistrust, fear, or simple disinterest in technologies that have become an actual or perceived necessity to millions?

The aim of this special issue is to evaluate the social impact and social implications of new and emerging technologies on governance, politics, public administration, and policy-making, and to evaluate the future prospects of digital democracy, and its transformative potential for increasing public engagement, community empowerment, and social entrepreneurship.

We welcome proposals for papers, parallel panel and workshop sessions focused on the relationship between technology, policy and social issues ranging from the economic and ethical to the cultural and environmental.

How does your culture view the potential for AI?

Do you want to attract the best people? Give them a problem with a purpose. Give them room to work. Give them recognition for their successes — not just internally, but encouraging them to share these at conferences, or in relevant peer communities.

We are asking for AI rationale that can be used to improve operations, or attribute liability. This effort is doomed to failure, and may lead to greater problems.

One result of increased AI integration will be increased empathy for robots. This transformation has potential upsides and risks.

“Why would a Russian oil company want to target information on American voters?” Chris asks in the article. Cambridge Analytica claims to have 4000-5000 data points on 230,000,000 U.S. adults.

Skilling-up for an AI-powered world involves more than science, technology, engineering and math. As computers behave more like humans, the social sciences and humanities will become even more important. Languages, art, history, economics, ethics, philosophy, psychology and human development courses can teach critical, philosophical and ethics-based skills that will be instrumental in the development and management of AI solutions.

Prior to 2016 there was little press with occasional hype about artificial intelligence. Somewhere in the last two years we…  Read More