CUCCR approaches solid waste by harnessing data collection to understand the waste flows within the university, using a tucked-away basement space to give waste materials a chance to pause and potentially be repurposed before being landfilled or recycled.
SSIT is participating in the IEEE Digital Privacy Initiative, a program under IEEE Future Directions that “focuses on a user-centric perspective—looking at the digital privacy needs of the individuals rather than the security of data, products, and organizations—such as providing individuals with user-enabled privacy controls and promoting privacy at the outset of product and service lifecycles.”
Now that generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools that produce data and information are becoming widespread and commonplace, studies are showing that humans have an insatiable appetite for data. These appetites can result in unhealthy data-snacking behaviors and addictions.
Research has shown that cognitive training done on computers results in modest learning gains with the potential to minimize cognitive decline in older adults. Indifferent attitudes toward the chatbot on the part of participants suggest that developers need to adopt a different approach in designing a more interactive and human-like experience, as older adults may have unique preferences and requirements compared to more tech-savvy users.
We should remember that the smartphone’s persuasive power-though generated through interactions with the device itself-is, at base, due to the very human intentions embedded within the device’s design and functionalities.
In the future, maps may be a continual feed of location-based video preserved in 3-D—and overlaid with semantic layers that indicate place, tell stories, and connect to social networks—to create an augmented reality.
In my teaching, I gained insight into some of the ethical dilemmas posed by science and technology but also into the dual nature of the typical student’s response to technology—while they held technology in awe, they also had a sense of alienation from it.
Given the urgency of the climate crisis, wealth and income inequality and affordability, and ongoing global conflicts and genocide, along with the erosion of centuries of democratic norms, it is imperative that academics stand up for their research and its practical applications.
Who knows how the future may materialize? As Yogi Berra also observed, “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future!”
When advanced AI capabilities remain concentrated among select countries and corporations, far-reaching implications emerge.
Cities’ abilities to lead on climate action and in democracy speak to the power of collective action and to the potential our individual action has when we can make common cause at the local scale.
The process of advancing AI technology and making AI-generated content attractive to and available to the general public is comparable to that of the printing press and its pivotal influence on newspapers and journalism.
The question at the heart of whether or not engaging with defense research is ethical probably boils down to this: does defense promote peace, or does it promote war?
The ISTAS 2025 theme is “Al Evolution and Revolution” and it is focused on the upheaval Al is causing in the world.
Much of the U.S. is suspicious of centralized government planning, and despite the benefits of rail’s carbon emissions per passenger compared to cars and planes, AMTRAK is seen by many Americans as a plot of eastern elites.
The Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) seeks applications and nominations for the position of Editor-in-Chief (EIC) or Co-Editors-in-Chief (Co-EICs) of the IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society (TTS) for a three-year term (once renewable) beginning 1 January 2026.
In the background of Mary Shelley’s life was a very public debate between two prominent doctors beginning in 1815: John Abernethy and William Lawrence, both faculty at the Royal College of Surgeons. Lawrence was Shelley’s doctor. There was a clash in their philosophies that emerged in public lectures. Abernethy’s belief about life is more harmonious with Judeo-Christian faith: that there is an essence that renders organic matter different from the inorganic and that human life is fundamentally different from other life. Lawrence maintained that life is simply matter that has grown sophisticated enough to reproduce itself and to become aware of its surroundings. Lawrence paid for this by losing his job. Ruston implies that Shelley’s Frankenstein subscribes to Abernethy’s belief.
The discipline of public policy is largely about the process and prioritization of decision-making and is deeply rooted in economics. It is about how to decide what to do or accomplish, based on countless variables and inputs. Preparing the next generation of policymakers means acknowledging that public policy and technology are inextricably entwined.
We initiated this special issue to highlight innovative and essential work underway on technology and analytics for global development. The panoply of important Adaptation and sustainability are essential, enabled by technologies that optimize crop production, improve quality, and protect the environment. topics discussed at ISTAS23 presented a difficult, but welcome challenge of deciding the theme for this special issue.
Though it is hard to find accurate figures on how many products introduced every year fail to meet safety and environmental standards—partly because market surveillance proves to be inadequate [6], while the assessment of market readiness is, in many cases, left to producers themselves [7] —the number may be higher than the public expects.
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