“From today, painting is dead!” is said to have been proclaimed by the French painter Paul Delaroche in 1839 after seeing his first daguerreotype. His was an early name on the list of people who have made fools of themselves when prognosticating a future resulting from a new medium or invention. Motivated by either techno-euphoria or pessimism they have become famously wrong.
Category: Human Impacts
Understanding and Strengthening Capacity for Society
By Christine Perakslis on August 17th, 2019 in Human Impacts, Last Word, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
As populations increase, the volume of man and materials increases [1]. Demand can exceed capacity.
Brain Implants: Hype or Hope
By Tom Harris on August 16th, 2019 in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Video & Podcasts, Videos
Katina Michael, Director of the Center for Engineering, Policy and Society at Arizona State University speaks at TEDxASU 2019 about… Read More
Letter to the Editor
By Jim Isaak on August 9th, 2019 in Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology
“Nudging” is the term used in the IEEE standards work on Ethics for AI Design. An AI system that applies deep learning to manipulating human decisions, with detailed analysis of the targeted individual, is a disturbing potential that must affect our trust in both the systems and those that direct their applications.
Microchipping People Is a “Bad Idea”
By Katina Michael on July 31st, 2019 in Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Interview, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology
Sjöström argues that NFC chips are a solution in search of a problem, have limited utility, are less efficient than alternatives, and pose significant health risks.
Poem – Sea of Seeds
By Alba Victoria on May 24th, 2019 in Editorial & Opinion, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Podcasts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact, Video & Podcasts
I am Alba Victoria
A biopsychologist highly interested in conservation
Dedicated to engaging science communication
Who is simply trying to find more sustainable ways
To support our current and future generations
BOOK REVIEW: Algorithms of Oppression
By Rachelle Linner on May 23rd, 2019 in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Book Reviews, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
Discrimination is “embedded in computer code and, increasingly, in artificial intelligence technologies that we are reliant on, by choice or not.”
Efficiency Versus Creativity as Organizing Principles of Socio-Technical Systems
By Ada Diaconescu on April 10th, 2019 in Commentary, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
What sense of worth and dignity can a person have when their daily activities are confined within systemic contraptions where personal input, originality, and initiative are either undesirable, or quantified as targets to be maximized?
Technology for Governance, Politics, and Democracy
By Tom Kane and Nick Novellil on March 16th, 2019 in Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
Innovative Information and Communication Technologies play an important role in e-governance and digital democracy. There is unprecedented opportunity for community collective choice, whereby citizens who are affected by a set of governing rules can help to select policy options and rank spending priorities.
Call for Papers
By Kristina Milanovic on February 20th, 2019 in Ethics, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
Call for Papers – Special Issue of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine – Human Computer Interaction: Regulation and Ethics of Digital Technology
Assessing Artificial Intelligence for Humanity
By Andrzej Nowak on February 1st, 2019 in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
Will AI be our biggest ever advance — or the biggest threat? The real danger of AI lies not in sudden apocalypse, but in the gradual degradation and disappearance of what make human experience and existence meaningful.
Odorveillance and the Ethics of Robotic Olfaction
By Emily Stark on January 25th, 2019 in Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology
Given the current lack of regulation, there is nothing in principle to stop unscrupulous organizations from deploying surreptitious robotic olfaction.
Implantable Technology
By Robert Sobot on January 1st, 2019 in Editorial & Opinion, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
Many recent advances in implantable devices not so long ago would have been strictly in the domain of science fiction. At the same time, the public remains mystified, if not conflicted about implantable technologies. Rising awareness about social issues related to implantable devices requires further exploration.
What’s left after “move fast and break things”? A solid approach to order
By cia romano on December 28th, 2018 in Blog Posts, Human Impacts, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
The assumption has been that consumers will jump at hype. Yet here at the end of 2018, it can be argued that the venality of tech giants has deflated the very hype cycle upon which those companies depend.
BOOK REVIEW: A Maverick of Electrical Science
By A. David Wunsch on December 11th, 2018 in Book Reviews, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
It’s interesting that the first major science fiction novel was written by a woman and perhaps significant that it presents a dark vision of scientific experimentation.
Translational Technologists and Collective Creativity
By Christine Perakslis on October 27th, 2018 in Human Impacts, Last Word, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
As a community, we aim to develop and deploy practical technological solutions that are of benefit to individuals and society. With participation-based methods, we no longer prescribe solutions, but rather co-construct.
IEEE and Sustainable Development
By Paul Cunningham on October 26th, 2018 in Environment, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, President's Message, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
This month I will briefly discuss the work of the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee, which I have the honor to chair this year.
Making It Useful Even When It Seems to Be Useless
By Javier Aracil 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.
In Professionals We Trust—Or Do We?
By Karl Stephan on October 1st, 2018 in Articles, Health & Medical, Human Impacts
Originally published in The Engineering Ethics blog, August 6, 2018. In a recent New York Times opinion piece, science journalist Melinda Wenner… Read More
BOOK REVIEW: The Camera Does the Rest: How Polaroid Changed Photography
By A. David Wunsch 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.