SSIT Celebrates Five Decades: Studying, Critiquing, and Appreciating the Impacts of Technology on Society

This year, 2022, marks 50 years of history within IEEE for the Society on Social Implications of Technology. We were established as a committee of the Technical Activities Board in 1972, and in 1982 became a society.

It is a moment to reflect on what has transpired in the realm of technology and society over this time, and on the accomplishments of SSIT and its members in helping to guide technological development in directions that benefit humanity. What have we achieved?

It is also a moment to look forward and imagine what the next 50 years will bring. What should SSIT be doing now to prepare for that future?

We welcome participation by everyone who has an interest or stake in issues related to technology and society – which is all of us. This page identifies relevant 50th anniversary activities, events, and resources.

Read: “Fifty Years of Good Trouble” by SSIT President Clinton Andrews from IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, March 2022.

Nevada Test Site, Wikimedia/Ken Lund; The Cuyahoga River, Wikimedia/Ken Lund; Social problems caused by bad design choices within social media, Wikimedia/ Juliana Castro for an article by Juan Ortiz Freuler; John Lewis, Wikimedia/U.S. House of Representatives.

Read: “50 Years Hence” by SSIT President Clinton Andrews, from IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, June 2022.

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SSIT 50th Anniversary Events and Activities

ISTAS 2022, November 10-12, 2022

SSIT 50th anniversary conference sessions (virtual):IEEE Technology and Society

Transformational Achievers and Achievements (Session 5)

Voices of the End-Users (Session 6)

Also:

Plenary: In celebration of SSIT’s 50th Anniversary

A Panel of IEEE Society Presidents will discuss how advancements in Science and Technology have affected IDH and Society over the past 50 years.

Moderator: IEEE-SSIT President-Elect, Dr. Luis Kun

Invited Panelists:

  • Metin Akay, IEEE EMBS current President
  • Rakesh Kumar, IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society Past President (2012-1013)
  • Dr. Cecilia Metra, 2022-2023 IEEE Division V Director, IEEE Computer Society Past President (2019),
  • Saifur Rahman, 2022 IEEE President Elect and IEEE Power & Energy Society Past President (2018-2019)

Also at ISTAS 2022:

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What has and has not changed in 50 years?
This panel session brings together present and past SSIT leaders to discuss how the salient issues have changed–or not–over a half century. These distinguished former SSIT Presidents will draw on their experiences in leading the Society through challenging internal episodes and external dramas to suggest what the next fifty years might bring. Expect both serious and hilarious moments.
Clinton Andrews, 2002-2003 and 2021-2022 SSIT President (https://bloustein.rutgers.edu/andrews/)(c.j.andrews@ieee.org)
Laura Jacobs Edelson, 2013-2014 SSIT President (https://engineering.nyu.edu/student/laura-edelson)(lj992@nyu.edu)
Ronald Kline, 1991-1992 SSIT President (https://sts.cornell.edu/ronald-r-kline)(rrk1@cornell.edu)

Toni Robbi, 1972-1973 CSIT Chair, 1987-1988 SSIT President (https://www.linkedin.com/in/toni-robbi-730b4073/)(t.robbi@ieee.org)

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On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of SSIT, SSIT President-Elect Luis Kun Congratulates the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (CIS) of Argentina, celebrating their 20th year. Click here: Luis Kun Congratulates CIS

 

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IEEE SSIT Student Activities Committee – SSIT 50th Anniversary Programming

Meet the Leader: IEEE SSIT President Clinton J. Andrews – SSIT SAC Webinar – June 30, 2022, 4:30 pm Eastern Time (U.S. and Canada)

SSIT President Clinton J. Andrews – Meet the Leader – SSIT SAC Webinar

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Past SSIT 50th Anniversary Events:

June 21-23, 2022, Denver, CO, U.S.A. : SSIT 50th Anniversary Booth at IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS)https://ims-ieee.org/

        

 

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CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO SSIT

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Timelines, Origins, and History of SSIT

Click here to view minutes of the IEEE TAB meeting held June 24, 1972, at which the IEEE Committee on Social Implications of Technology was established.

Click HERE to read the IEEE History Center timeline of SSIT events and early documents, as well as a excerpts from an article about the history of SSIT.

Read: “Notes for a History of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology,” by Karl D. Stephan (full article)

Read: CSIT – A Eulogy, by Jeff Bogumil

Read: Social Implications of Technology: The Past, the Present, and the Future,” by Karl D. Stephan, Katina Michael, M. G. Michael, Laura Jacob, and Emily P. Anesta

Click here to view timeline of past ISTAS conferences.

Click here to browse timeline of 50 years of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine covers.

Click here to view past IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society covers.

Click here to view short SSIT video that includes information about history of SSIT

 

 

Chapter Chair Statements (to come)

 

Get Involved!

Join IEEE SSIT! Existing IEEE members – students join SSIT for only $4, other IEEE members add SSIT membership for only $33 using this link.

Attend the 2022 International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS22)

Find a Local SSIT Chapter

Learn More About SSIT:

WATCH: An Introduction to SSIT