Out of the PIT Lane (iStock/nycshooter)

September 2021

Public Interest Technology

Technology can be seen as a public good that can benefit all, through an open democratic system of governance, with open data initiatives, open technologies, and open systems/ecosystems designed for the collective good, as defined by respective communities that will be utilizing them. Just like in the established field of public interest law and public interest journalism, we can consider potential fields around the idea of Public Interest Technology, such as public interest co-design, public interest engagement, or public interest consulting.

Free Online Content

• What to Expect From IEEE 7000: The First Standard for Building Ethical Systems by S. Spiekermann Posted in: Articles, Ethics, Human Impacts, Last Word, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - How can tech organizations of whatever size and industry build more ethical systems? IEEE 7000™ aims to provide organizations with… ...  Read More
• Growing a Culture of Technological Stewardship by Jason Lajoie Posted in: Articles, Commentary, Environment, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - The negative effects of technological innovations can be foreseen, and more importantly, mitigated through more intentional and skillful engineering. Systematic… ...  Read More
• The Fourth Industrial Revolution Will Not Bring the Future We Want by Chris J. Barton Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - The promise of 4IR is overblown and its perils are underappreciated. There are compelling reasons to reject—and even actively oppose—the… ...  Read More
• Autonomous Vehicles in Rural Communities: Is It Feasible? by Diandra Prioleau Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Commentary, Environment, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - Although much research has been devoted to the effects of autonomous vehicles (AVs) on urban areas, little work has been… ...  Read More
• Can Open Source Licenses Help Regulate Lethal Autonomous Weapons? by Cheng Lin Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ethics, Leading Edge, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - Lethal autonomous weapon systems  have the potential to radically transform warfare. Can open source technology help regulate their development? ...  Read More
• Toward an Open Web (of Things) by Bart Moons Posted in: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Editorial & Opinion, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - The Web has entered an unfair culture where big tech companies offer free applications in exchange for the right to… ...  Read More
• Next Steps for Social Robotics in an Aging World by Jordan Miller Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Leading Edge, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - The technologies being investigated may hold a promising future for the elderly population, allowing people to continue to live inside… ...  Read More
• Not Another Panic Button: Meaningful Inclusion in Technology Development by terribookman Posted in: Articles, Communication Technology, Ethics, Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Leading Edge, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - Hackathons and other well-intentioned efforts to solve social problems using technology must also include the meaningful participation of affected individuals… ...  Read More
• Sun Exposure and Physical Activity: The Valuable Role of UV Wearables by Jennifer Vanos Posted in: Health & Medical, Human Impacts, Leading Edge, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology - The wearable industry is responding to the needs of researchers and consumers with improved UV-wearable technologies. ...  Read More
• Co-Designing the Future With Public Interest Technology by Roba Abbas Posted in: Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - PIT acknowledges that technological potential can be harnessed to satisfy the needs of civil society. In other words, technology can… ...  Read More

NOTE: Most IEEE Technology and Society Magazine columns and department articles are publicly accessible at no charge. Click on the title of any non-refereed article to read.

SSIT membership (subscription) is required to access refereed articles (marked with asterisk).