via Imperial College London
The Internet of Things (IoT) is completely enmeshed in our daily lives, a network of connected laptops, phones, cars, fitness trackers—even smart toasters and refrigerators—that are increasingly able to make decisions on their own. But how to ensure that these devices benefit us, rather than exploit us or put us at risk?
New work, led by Francine Berman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, proposes a novel framework, the “impact universe,” that can help policymakers keep the public interest in focus amidst the rush to adopt ever-new digital technology.
“How,” asks Berman, Stuart Rice Honorary Chair and Research Professor in UMass Amherst’s Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS), “can we ensure that technology works for us, rather than the other way around?” Berman, lead author of a new paper recently published in the journal Patterns, and her co-authors sketch out what they call the “impact universe”—a way for policymakers and others to think “holistically about the potential impacts of societal controls for systems and devices in the IoT”.
One of the wonders of modern digital technology is that it increasingly makes decisions for us on its own. But, as Berman puts it, “technology needs adult supervision.”
The impact universe is a way of holistically sketching out all the competing implications of a given technology, taking into consideration environmental, social, economic and other impacts to develop effective policy, law and other societal controls. Instead of focusing on a single desirable outcome, sustainability, say, or profit, the impact universe allows us to see that some outcomes will come at the cost of others.
“The model reflects the messiness of real life and how we make decisions,” says Berman, but it brings clarity to that messiness so that decision makers can see and debate the tradeoffs and benefits of different social controls to regulate technology. The framework allows decision makers to be more deliberate in their policy-making and to better focus on the common good.
Berman is at the forefront of an emerging field called public interest technology (PIT), and she’s building an initiative at UMass Amherst that unites campus students and scholars whose work is empowered by technology and focused on social responsibility. The ultimate goal of PIT is to develop the knowledge and critical thinking needed to create a society capable of effectively managing the digital ecosystem that powers our daily lives.
Berman’s co-authors, Emilia Cabrera, Ali Jebari and Wassim Marrakchi, were Harvard undergraduates and worked with Berman on the paper during her Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard. The fellowship gave Berman a chance to work broadly with a multidisciplinary group of scholars and thinkers, and to appreciate the importance of designing, developing, and framing societal controls so that technology promotes the public benefit.
“The real world is complex and there are always competing priorities,” says Berman. “Tackling this complexity head-on by taking the universe of potential technology impacts into account is critical if we want digital technologies to serve society rather than overwhelm it.”
Original Article: HOW TO MAKE SURE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY WORKS FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD
More from: University of Massachusetts
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Public interest technology
- HC asks Centre to respond to plea on non-regulation of deepfake technology
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre's response on a PIL by veteran journalist Rajat Sharma against non-regulation of deepfake technology in the country and seeking directions to block ...
- Why doesn’t YouTube TV carry C-SPAN?
The largest of these services, Google’s YouTube TV, has made the decision to exclude C-SPAN from their channel lineup and thus from American homes. YouTube TV now surpasses 8 million subscribers, ...
- Rajat Sharma moves Delhi HC against non-regulation of deepfake technology
A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora has sought a response from the union government through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Tec ...
- Delhi HC Seeks Centre's Response On PIL Seeking Regulation Of Deepfake Technology
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on a public i ...
- Journalist moves PIL in Delhi HC seeking to block public access software, platforms enabling deepfakes
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the central government on a public interest litigation (PIL) moved by a veteran journalist seeking directions to the Ministry of Electronics ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Public interest technology
[google_news title=”” keyword=”public interest technology” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Internet of things
- Crypto? AI? Internet co-creator Robert Kahn already did it … decades ago
You told it what you wanted to do and launched it — you know, make airplane reservations, check your email, look at the news, let you know about things that might affect you, just freed you up; it ...
- 3 Internet of Things (IoT) Stocks with the Potential to Make You an Overnight Millionaire
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips By now, you’ve heard of the Internet of Things (IoT) — or the ...
- Internet of Things
Microchip has announced its most secure 32bit microcontrollers – a series of 120MHz Cortex-M33 MCUs for connected things. “Emerging requirements make security mandatory for the majority of IoT ...
- Shares of Internet of Things Play Impinj Soar on Strong Earnings and Outlook
Impinj stock skyrocketed Thursday after the chip provider offered robust guidance and better-than-expected earnings. The company manufactures radio-frequency identification, or RFID, chips for ...
- Internet of Things (IoT) Market to Expand at a Stellar 19.4% CAGR through 2031 | SkyQuest Technology
Market will attain a value of USD 1572.37 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 19.4% over the forecast period (2024-2031). Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network of connected devices over the ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Internet of things
[google_news title=”” keyword=”internet of things” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]