Responsible Technology

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. This book provides a multi-disciplinary Christian analysis of the forces shaping the operation of modern technology, and offers an alternative framework of biblically rooted normative principles. It argues that technology is a value- laden activity and presents principles for basing it on God's will.

Why technology is not an end in itself, and how cities can be “smart enough,” using technology to promote democracy and equity. Smart cities, where technology is used to solve every problem, are hailed as futuristic urban utopias. We are promised that apps, algorithms, and artificial intelligence will relieve congestion, restore democracy, prevent crime, and improve public services. In The Smart Enough City, Ben Green warns against seeing the city only through the lens of technology; taking an exclusively technical view of urban life will lead to cities that appear smart but under the surface are rife with injustice and inequality. He proposes instead that cities strive to be “smart enough”: to embrace technology as a powerful tool when used in conjunction with other forms of social change—but not to value technology as an end in itself. In a technology-centric smart city, self-driving cars have the run of downtown and force out pedestrians, civic engagement is limited to requesting services through an app, police use algorithms to justify and perpetuate racist practices, and governments and private companies surveil public space to control behavior. Green describes smart city efforts gone wrong but also smart enough alternatives, attainable with the help of technology but not reducible to technology: a livable city, a democratic city, a just city, a responsible city, and an innovative city. By recognizing the complexity of urban life rather than merely seeing the city as something to optimize, these Smart Enough Cities successfully incorporate technology into a holistic vision of justice and equity.

Companies and thought leaders need to do a better job embedding core principles into the lifecycle of the digital production value chain at all levels. Objectives and key results as well as key performance indicators must all be measured according to sustainability and our overall well-being. We must do everything in our power to impart these principles to teams developing digital products. Balakarthik Baskaran, a technologist, philanthropist, and digital transformation leader, explores how to overcome the challenges to developing such a model in this book. He answers questions such as: • What are the principles of frugal design? • How does seemingly innocuous technology like text messaging affect global warming? • In what ways can digital technology be used to drive positive change? While technology has helped us be more efficient in our lives in our work, it’s also failed to solve some of our most pressing global environmental problems. However, while technology may be part of the problem, this book explores how it can also offer solutions.

Technology has made human lives incomparably better. Civilization as we know it would utterly collapse without it. However, if not properly managed, technology can and will be systematically abused and misuse and thereby become one of the biggest threats to humankind. This open access book applies proactive crisis management to the management of technology organizations to make them more sustainable and socially responsible for the betterment of humankind. It forecasts the unintended consequences of technology and offers methods to counteract it.

This open access book aims to set an agenda for research and action in the field of Digital Humanism through short essays written by selected thinkers from a variety of disciplines, including computer science, philosophy, education, law, economics, history, anthropology, political science, and sociology. This initiative emerged from the Vienna Manifesto on Digital Humanism and the associated lecture series. Digital Humanism deals with the complex relationships between people and machines in digital times. It acknowledges the potential of information technology. At the same time, it points to societal threats such as privacy violations and ethical concerns around artificial intelligence, automation and loss of jobs, ongoing monopolization on the Web, and sovereignty. Digital Humanism aims to address these topics with a sense of urgency but with a constructive mindset. The book argues for a Digital Humanism that analyses and, most importantly, influences the complex interplay of technology and humankind toward a better society and life while fully respecting universal human rights. It is a call to shaping technologies in accordance with human values and needs.

This book addresses the methodological issues involved in responsible innovation and provides an overview of recent applications of multidisciplinary research. Responsible innovation involves research into the ethical and societal aspects of new technologies (e.g. ICT, nanotechnology, biotechnology and brain sciences) and of changes in technological systems (e.g. energy, transport, agriculture and water). This research is highly multidisciplinary. It involves close collaboration between researchers in such diverse fields as ethics, social science, law, economics, applied science, engineering - as well as innovative, design-oriented and policy-relevant. Although there is a trend to engage ethicists and social scientists early in technology development, most literature in the field of Technology Assessment or Ethics of Technology is still aimed at one discipline whereas this book incorporates different approaches and to discuss experiences, lessons and more general theoretical issues.

This book provides an overview of recent and current research which defines and scopes the field of responsible marketing in one single edited book. It brings together diverse perspectives from contributors at Birmingham University, leading the academic development of knowledge of the subject, to contribute to the learning curriculum and reach out to those interested in improving marketing practices and standards. Responsible Marketing for Well-being and Society draws together a rich and diverse body of scholarly research from a variety of perspectives from individual to global, macro and micro, producer and consumer, environmental, stakeholder, supply chain, and other intermediary viewpoints. The embryonic research in this field involves different philosophical and methodological positions, theoretical approaches, and research communities including aspects of corporate social responsibility, marketing ethics, critical marketing, consumer culture theory, and macromarketing. The book takes a predominantly organisational or enterprise-level perspective in order to understand and explain how individuals and organisations can manage their marketing activities and relationships responsibly. The actions of other stakeholders are also a crucial component in achieving responsible outcomes; therefore, a broader perspective on the impacts of marketing decisions and actions on other stakeholders, such as consumers, employees, the environment, and society, is also taken as a basis for analysis and discussion. The book provides an authoritative overview for the academic market, including university libraries, research teams, PhD students, and independent researchers. The topics and contents of responsible marketing are relevant to several disciplinary fields of study including, marketing, advertising, retailing and other business subjects, consumer studies, sustainability, ethics, public policy, media studies, psychology, economics, and other social sciences.

This book discusses issues regarding conceptualization, governance and implementation of responsible innovation. It treats different approaches to making responsible innovation a reality and it contains new case studies that illustrate challenges and solutions. Research on Responsible Innovation is by its nature highly multidisciplinary, and also pro-active, design-oriented and policy-relevant. Until a few years back, the concept of Responsible Innovation was hardly used - nowadays it is increasingly receiving attention from both researchers and policy makers. This is indispensable reading for anyone interested in or working on innovation.