Category: Societal Impact

IEEE ISTAS 2023 Conference in Swansea, Wales, Hosts First of Two Scheduled Climate Change Panels

By on September 16th, 2023 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blog Posts, Conferences, Environment, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Some topics addressed on the September 13 panel included climate change challenges related to health and healthcare, contributions of computing to the climate change problem in terms of energy use, along with the potential of computing to contribute to solutions to the crisis, agriculture and food security issues related to climate change, systems design, finding solutions and improving communication across IEEE societies, carbon removal, and economic and social aspects of the crisis including forced migration, water supplies, and the responsibilities of developed nations to developing nations in climate change mitigation.

On Day 2 of ISTAS 2023, Second Climate Change Panel: “Public Safety Technologies and Climate Change”

By on September 15th, 2023 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blog Posts, Conferences, Environment, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

The IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS 23) continued into its second day of regular programming on Thursday September 14, and included the presentation of a second panel related to climate change, this one focused on “Public Safety Technologies and Climate Change.”

Register Today – Digital Platforms and Societal Harms – Hybrid Global Forum – October 2 and 3, 2023

By on September 4th, 2023 in Blog Posts, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

We invite you to join us at Digital Platforms and Societal Harms, taking place 2 and 3 October at American University in Washington, D.C. and with keynote panels also available in hybrid mode to enable online attendance.

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR SECTIONS / CHAPTERS – Digital Platforms and Societal Harms – Call for Participation

By on September 4th, 2023 in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blog Posts, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

We invite you to join us at Digital Platforms and Societal Harms, taking place 2 and 3 October at American University in Washington, D.C. and with keynote panels available in hybrid mode to enable online attendance, and – this is where you come in – though local in-person events that can be hosted by IEEE Sections or Chapters anywhere in the world.

Crowd small figures of people on Piazza del Duomo square, Milan, Italy

Reimagining Digital Public Spaces and Artificial Intelligence for Deep Cooperation

By on August 20th, 2023 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Commentary, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

What role does and can AI play in us being able to enjoy security in our places and spaces? Perhaps we could design technology-enabled spaces for the purpose of strengthening the community and empowering community action.

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.

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.”

Can God Be an AI with Robo-Priests?

By on April 15th, 2023 in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact, Transactions

In our time, it is not mythologies or idols in the place of God, but  a new divinity, an “AI-centric” God, which according to some in the transhumanist movement, advocates for the enhancement of the human condition in terms of both its longevity and cognition. The rubrics of a divinatory algorithm would be shaped dependent on one’s philosophical or religious orientation or even all of the wisdom literature merged together.

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.