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September 2022

Technological Stewardship and Responsible Innovation

Responsible innovation entails a particular mindset—a mindset that treats all innovation, tech innovation in particular, as inherently possessed of ethical dimensions. Furthermore, aligned with this recognition that technology is normative is a conviction that it is essential to navigate the development and deployment of technological innovation in ways that consider and take responsibility for its benefits and consequences. The call for responsible innovation, in other words, is a call to address and account for technology’s short- and long-term impacts within social, political, environmental, and cultural domains.

Technological stewardship stands as the corollary of this mindset: a commitment to anticipate and mitigate technology’s potential for disruption and especially harm and to guide innovation toward beneficial ends. Adopted from the domain of engineering ethics, where it “involves taking a value sensitive approach to embedding ethics, sustainability, and EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusivity) principles into the practice and culture of engineering,” technological stewardship belongs to any who would take up the mantle.

Free Online Content

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• The Everyday Ethics of Corporate Social Responsibility by Jessica Smith Posted in: Articles, Commentary, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Societal Impact - People around the world are increasingly holding corporations accountable for their practices and seeking ways to rectify their unequal distribution… ...  Read More
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• Technological Stewardship and Responsible Innovation by Heather Love Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - The call for responsible innovation is a call to address and account for technology’s short- and long-term impacts within social,… ...  Read More
• The Unbelievable Pointlessness of Impact by Jeremy Pitt Posted in: Articles, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Editorial & Opinion, Ethics, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - All the deep philosophical questions, starts the joke, were asked by the classical Greeks, and everything since then has been… ...  Read More
• Lifetimes of Involvement With SSIT by Clint Andrews Posted in: Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, President's Message, Social Implications of Technology, SSIT 50th Anniversary - This Anniversary Year provides a reason to reflect on the fact that many members have been involved with the IEEE… ...  Read More

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