From the Press: "Building Ethical Thinking into Technology"

Highlighting a series of articles written for the MIT Technology Review, Mat Honan underscores the reciprocal relationship between technology and ethics. Each can define and redefine the other, creating space to consider where the limits of our social responsibility lies to think technology differently as we are faced with ongoing health and environmental crises, as well as deepening global conflicts. 

Amongst the articles Mat Honan highlights, the Public Interest Technologist team suggests you start with Rebecca Ackerman’s piece on evolution of the open-source movement, and the role cryptocurrencies have played in shaping public discourse on digital resources able to respond to a need for online transparency while also mitigating opportunities for fraud and scams. We also recommend the piece written by Gregory Epstein, a humanist chaplain at MIT and the president of Harvard’s organization of chaplains, exploring the role of tech as an organizing force in society, one whose implications are challenged and investigated by organizations such as All Tech Is Human. Both pieces explore the broader implications of technology as it structures discourse in the public sphere about the value we can (or should) ascribe to technology and its impacts on society, politics, and culture. These two articles are part of a series, one the Technologist team recommends our community members to explore if they haven’t already! 

Full Citation:

Honan, Mat. "Building ethical thinking into Technology." MIT Technology Review. September 12, 2023. https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/09/12/1077673/ethical-questions-tech/