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.
Tag: Showcase
From Usability to Exploitability
By Jeremy Pitt on September 21st, 2018 in Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
If digital technologies can be designed to maintain or sustain values, then the same technologies can be designed to manipulate or undermine those same values.
From Good Ideas to Practical Solutions
By Roba Abbas 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.
Introducing FutureProof, the IEEE SSIT Blog
By terribookman on September 7th, 2018 in Magazine Articles, News and Notes, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
SSIT launches FutureProof, a refereed blog of concise, authoritative posts surfacing critical topics on the social implications of technology.
The Ultimate Black Box
By Krishna Sood on August 25th, 2018 in Ethics, Industry View, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology
Developers face a conundrum when launching software that must be equipped to make a moral judgment. Algorithms are being programmed to make consequential decisions that align with laws and moral sensibilities.
Defending Against Opaque Algorithmic Meddling in Free Elections
By Joe Carvalko 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 Rebekah Shirley and Daniel Kammen 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 Shoshana Eilon 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.
Publish or Impoverish
By Jeremy Pitt 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.
Digital Empowerment and Socio-Political Stability
By Christine Perakslis on June 12th, 2018 in Last Word, Magazine Articles, Societal Impact
Social media (SM) usage is increasing across the globe. Of the 7.6 billion people populating earth, 4 billion are believed to be Internet users. Over 3 billion are SM users, representing over 40% global penetration.
President’s Message – Operationalizing SSIT’s 5 Pillars
By Paul Cunningham on June 12th, 2018 in Magazine Articles, President's Message, Societal Impact
SSIT Pillar 4 is dedicated to Societal Impact of Technology. Pillar 4 focuses on highlighting and supporting the development of technologies that incorporate the principles of safety, security, and privacy by design.
500 Years Later: Doors and Disputations
By Christine Perakslis on May 12th, 2018 in Human Impacts, Last Word, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
Our authors nail rich scholarship to our portal, thus inviting healthy disputation. In this issue, we considered the value of a mesh of connective vehicles used to overcome the digital divide.
BOOK REVIEW: Drone Warfare
By Jacob Ossar on April 27th, 2018 in Book Reviews, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Societal Impact
When thanks to drone use soldiers rarely come home in body bags, members of the public are not often prompted to care about or even notice military activity half a world away.
BOOK REVIEW: Drowning in Information, Starving for Knowledge
By Abdullah Shahid and Ningzi Li on April 10th, 2018 in Book Reviews, Communication Technology, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
Orman poses “information overload” as a paradox and gives us three mechanisms through which such paradox arises. The paradox is that technologies help us know more, but in the process, we know less.
The Internet of Moving Things
By Rui Costa on March 31st, 2018 in Human Impacts, Industry View, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Societal Impact
Mobile technology isn’t just in your pocket 24/7. It’s everywhere around us today, with its continual byproduct — data — trailing us everywhere we go. The great nexus of this 21st-century trend isn’t really your smartphone — it’s the city where you live, work, and play.
One at a Time, and All at Once
By Jeremy Pitt on March 21st, 2018 in Editorial & Opinion, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Societal Impact
It is necessary to start somehow, even if you’ve got no map, no knowledge of the destination, and no milometer to measure the distance that has been covered. This can sometimes be the essence of collective action for addressing wicked problems. Sometimes human behavior defies top-down direction and even nudge, and begins instead with a single initiating event and snowballs from there.
SSIT and Sustainable Development
By Paul Cunningham on March 9th, 2018 in Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, President's Message, Societal Impact
As an IEEE technical Society whose focus on all aspects of societal implications of technology complements the technical activities of all other IEEE Societies, SSIT members have a proud history of contributions to sustainable development and humanitarian technology. We have long focused on addressing ethical implications, interdependencies, context, and socio-cultural norms that are essential to avoid unintended and unanticipated consequences. One of our core strengths as a community has been our collaborative, partnership-based approach.
Robots and SocioEthical Implications
By Katina Michael on March 7th, 2018 in Editorial & Opinion, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Societal Impact
Is it unreasonable for us to want more from the AI-inspired — something more than, for example, a robot that can get up off the ground, and recover from being hit with a club?
Refrigeration Nation
By Karl Stephan on March 5th, 2018 in Book Reviews, Magazine Articles, Societal Impact
Jonathan Rees’s Refrigeration Nation has a great deal to say about the way refrigeration technology brought about profound changes in eating habits, agricultural practices, and even entire national economies over the last two centuries.
Book Review: Computer Accessibility Rights
By S. Henry-Buckmire on February 27th, 2018 in Book Reviews, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact
Petrick provides historic perspectives of how computer technology was developed in the United States allowing persons with disabilities full participation in their own lives and in the society.