Category: Magazine Articles

Making It Useful Even When It Seems to Be Useless

By on October 13th, 2018 in Editorial & Opinion, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Technology has provided the source of intrinsically liberating devices, even if a number of them have proved themselves to be lethal. All this is precisely what defines the technological endeavors that constitute the backbone of our civilization.

BOOK REVIEW: The Camera Does the Rest: How Polaroid Changed Photography

By on September 30th, 2018 in Book Reviews, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Peter Buse, in his The Camera Does the Rest, stakes out different territory. His focus is on the social meaning of the Polaroid camera: how did it change photography? How were the cameras used? And how did Land intend them to be used — a concept that often differed from their actual use.

From Good Ideas to Practical Solutions

By on September 20th, 2018 in Editorial & Opinion, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

We define “good” technological ideas, as: sound technological designs, developed using participation-based methods, that seek to promote the beneficial uses of technology (through the harnessing of technological potential) while minimizing/potentially eliminating the undesirable effects on individuals and society. These approaches will ideally lead to the development and deployment of practical solutions that fulfill the need(s) of the intended end-user(s) and/or solve a given problem.

Defending Against Opaque Algorithmic Meddling in Free Elections

By on August 11th, 2018 in Editorial & Opinion, Magazine Articles, Privacy & Security, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

As social media serves to transform free speech the world over, a pervasive infiltration of the information highway is underway by individuals and entities using bots and human agencies to invade our privacy and channel extremist, hateful speech in propaganda-like campaigns bent on undermining democratic institutions.

Mundane Is the New Radical

By on August 3rd, 2018 in Editorial & Opinion, Environment, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

The increasing number of dam projects deployed in developing countries over the last two decades that perform poorly illustrate a disconnect between planners, stakeholders, and technological energy solutions of choice.

That Dragon, Cancer

By on July 21st, 2018 in Human Impacts, Leading Edge, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

Thank You for Playing explores the very personal experiences of a family battling cancer, and the beauty and hope that can be found in the artistic process, while also examining the age-old question of where the boundaries lie in representing difficult emotional experiences in art.

Call for Papers – Special Issue of IEEE Technology and Magazine

By on July 21st, 2018 in Magazine Articles, Societal Impact

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.

Publish or Impoverish

By on June 26th, 2018 in Editorial & Opinion, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

It can be glibly asserted that technology makes accomplishing various activities easier. But it is not always obvious for whom it makes it easier to accomplish what. For example, the Internet has had a profound impact on academic publishing, and the transition from printed paper to digital format has ostensibly made it “easier” for academics to put their work in the public domain and, if they can actually get attention in a social-media sound-bite distracted world, reach a wider audience than ever before.