Category: 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.

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.

Joseph Carvalko has won the 2024 white paper prize “To Recognise Excellence In AI Research” for the paper, “Generative AI, Ingenuity, and Law,” published in the June 2024 issue of the IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society.

Who knows how the future may materialize? As Yogi Berra also observed, “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future!”

SSIT member Mario Aleman has received an IEEE Foundation Community Enablement Proof of Concept 2nd Place Award

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.

It is with great sadness that I am announcing the passing of our dear colleague and friend Banu Onaral on December 18, 2024.  

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.

Incoming 2025 IEEE SSIT President-Elect Murty Polavarapu was recognized Saturday November 23 with an IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Discretionary Award at the TAB MGA meeting in Dallas, TX, USA. The award was given “in recognition of outstanding contributions as an IEEE MGA volunteer.”

IEEE SSIT Treasurer Howard Wolfman was recognized by the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Board with a 2024 MGA Leadership Award on Saturday November 23, in Dallas, TX USA.

Ramalatha Marimuthu, who is SSIT’s Madras India Chapter Chair, and a IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society Associate Editor, was recognized November 22, 2024, in Dallas, TX, with the IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education.