Category: Social Implications of Technology

Special Issue on Ethical Innovation with/in Music Technology — Deadline Extended

By on June 23rd, 2025 in Blog Posts, Call for Papers, Call for Papers, Conferences, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact, Transactions

The deadline for the IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society Special Issue on Ethical Innovation with/in Music Technology has been extended to December 31, 2025.

A Conversation on Waste and Local Action

By on June 18th, 2025 in Articles, Case Studies, Environment, Ethics, Human Impacts, Interview, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

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.

IEEE ETHICS 2025 Explores “Emerging Technologies, Ethics, and Social Justice” in Evanston, IL, USA, June 6-8, 2025

By on June 11th, 2025 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blog Posts, Conferences, Ethics, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact, SSIT Announcements

Over 150 scholars and practitioners from industry, academia, government, and civil society gathered at IEEE ETHICS 2025 to examine questions of ethics and social justice in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

Smart AI, Private Lives: Can We Have Both?

By on June 10th, 2025 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, President's Message, Privacy & Security, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

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.”

IEEE SSIT Chapter Committee – Call for Proposals (CYCLE 1) – Deadline: 15th June, 2025

By on June 1st, 2025 in Articles, Blog Posts, Call for Volunteers, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact, SSIT Announcements

The IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) Chapters Committee announces a Call for Proposals to organize impactful events and activities that explore and address the intersection of technology and society.

Data Hunger: The Deep Connection Between the AI Chatbot and the Human

By on May 26th, 2025 in Commentary, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

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.

Smartphone Self-Paced Learning With a Chatbot in Malaysian Older Adults

By on May 14th, 2025 in Articles, Commentary, Communication Technology, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

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.

Analyzing Smartphones as Persuasive Technologies: A Rhetorical Perspective

By on April 23rd, 2025 in Articles, Commentary, Communication Technology, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

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.

Trail Paving in Engineering Ethics Education

By on March 20th, 2025 in Articles, Case Studies, Commentary, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

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.

Research to Reality: Scholars as Agents of Change

By on March 10th, 2025 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Editorial & Opinion, Environment, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology

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.

What AI Owners Can Learn From Journalism

By on January 30th, 2025 in Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Case Studies, Commentary, Communication Technology, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Privacy & Security, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact

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.

2025 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS25) Set for Sept 10-12, 2025

By on January 15th, 2025 in Announcements, Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blog Posts, Call for Papers, Conferences, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact, SSIT Announcements

The ISTAS 2025 theme is “Al Evolution and Revolution” and it is focused on the upheaval Al is causing in the world.