Category: Commentary

Spain’s Comunitat Valenciana (Valencian Community) (Figure 1) has a rich agricultural history, with long traditions of resilience and innovation. This tradition,…  Read More

Edge computing security challenges the existing trust that end-users have when using device-level services. Studies identify that stakeholder accountability can be achieved through data protection regulation when implementing edge and IoT services.

The LLES Project promotes the transformation of the conventional construction paradigm, incorporating bioclimatic architecture strategies like passive measures to minimize heat gain and maximize cooling.

These modernists aim to cultivate in readers the capacity to “think cybernetically”—that is, to develop strategies for responding in creative and generative ways to the 20th century’s complex sociocultural (and socio-technical) environment.

We urge that there be a federal mandate to include bionics in federal insurance programs and insurance companies regulated by Obamacare. As prostheses advance in sensory capabilities, insurance companies need to recognize prosthetic limbs as a part of the body susceptible to personal injury, not just as equipment, since they have haptic capabilities (i.e., the sense of touch) and can feel distress.

There have been many arguments made for why increasing diversity and improving the representation of women in this field is important such as workers shortage, estimated increase in countries’ gross domestic product (GDP) by including more women in this sector, creating software that better represents the needs of women overall—potentially addressing some of the existing biases in algorithms, and bringing about a general improvement in society.

Design for values is an umbrella term for approaches that pay systematic attention to social and moral values throughout the entire design process.

Co-design and development of technology with indigenous communities requires respect and close partnership. Here, we reflect on our experiences working with a Māori (indigenous New Zealand) community as Pākehā (non-Māori). In particular, we consider the importance of protection as an underlying principle.

Amid a global labor force crisis, we cannot turn a blind eye to technological solutions. However, we must approach them with caution and prudence to avoid exacerbating existing biases.

It is fully possible to design diets that are nutritionally adequate, with 65% lower greenhouse gas emissions, and which do not cost more than the baseline diet.

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.

While it is true that technology is addressing problems and making elements of some people’s lives easier, there are aggregate measures that suggest a troubling trajectory.

PeaceTech is “the movement to use technology to end violent conflict and extremism.”

Scholars critique physical infrastructure approaches as ineffective because flooding routinely exceeds defense structures and disaster assistance and removes the incentive for property owners to reduce their risk. As an educational and engagement tool, the flood resilience challenge (FRC) game aims to build the capacity of stakeholders to improve flood resilience and enhance flood risk governance, including collective decision-making.

People around the world are increasingly holding corporations accountable for their practices and seeking ways to rectify their unequal distribution of the risks and benefits among differently positioned populations.

Organizations are gaining awareness that digital products and services targeted at the children’s market segment need to go beyond adopting the “mindset” of a child. Rather, it is necessary to actually invite children to participate in the design process.

If caregiving is the very essence of being human, why would we consider turning it over to robots? Technology—and artificial intelligence (AI, in particular—have created a world in which automation is prioritized and digital is seen as an improvement on analog—more accurate, more portable, and more controllable. Caregiving is as analog as it gets and it is a field with a serious labor shortage. That makes it ripe for automation—and in fact, the robot caregivers are already here.

Social robotics is poised to impact society by addressing isolation and providing companionship by augmenting human interaction when none is available.

Worldwide, there are 55 million individuals living with dementia and it is projected that by 2050, this number will increase to 139 million. Technological devices and solutions that can benefit the dementia community also carry ethical implications such as privacy and issues of consent. AI-driven LBS solutions may exacerbate the marginalization of individuals living with dementia.

In the first six months of 2018, eight New York City yellow cab drivers, impacted by big tech disruption on the taxi industry, took their own lives. “I am not a Slave and I refuse to be one,” wrote one in his suicide note.