Wow! eBook
Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics
Author(s): Stephanie Hare (Author)
- Publisher: London Publishing Partnership
- Publication Date: 22 Feb. 2022
- Language: English
- Print length: 288 pages
- ISBN-10: 1907994971
- ISBN-13: 9781907994975
Book Description
“Do we need a Hippocratic Oath for technology? Hare makes a strong case for why we might. Technology can be used for good or bad purposes, but rarely is it neutral. From facial recognition technology to Covid-19 exposure notification apps, this book explains why good intentions can so often lead to bad results.”
―“Best Summer books of 2022: Technology”, Financial Times
“I strongly recommend this book. It’s essential reading for policymakers and anyone working in technology, business and finance looking for a practical guide to the increasingly critical field of tech ethics. It’s for all those concerned about issues such as privacy, data ownership and identity theft.”
― “The Best Books of 2022 So Far, Picked by FT Readers”, Financial Times
It seems that just about every new technology that we bring to bear on improving our lives brings with it some downside, side effect or unintended consequence.
These issues can pose very real and growing ethical problems for all of us. For example, automated facial recognition can make life easier and safer for us – but it also poses huge issues with regard to privacy, ownership of data and even identity theft. How do we understand and frame these debates, and work out strategies at personal and governmental levels?
Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics addresses one of today’s most pressing problems: how to create and use tools and technologies to maximize benefits and minimize harms?
Drawing on the author’s experience as a technologist, political risk analyst and historian, the book offers a practical and cross-disciplinary approach that will inspire anyone creating, investing in or regulating technology, and it will empower all readers to better hold technology to account.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Hare forces us to think critically and with intentionality about the chaos factories beneath the innocent surface of the technology that surrounds us. A thought-provoking, humorous and sometimes frightening look at an issue that needs our urgent attention, from the leading voice in technology ethics. Put the ethics of the ubiquitous cell phones, televisions, apps, surveillance cameras and national identity cards on your radar, and use this book as your guide. –Rob Chesnut, former Chief Ethics Officer at Airbnb and author of Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead An Ethical Revolution
One of the most common cop-outs for not taking responsibility for technology is that ‘tools are neutral’. If you want to understand why technology is not neutral, and what some of the implications of this are, read this book. A compelling call to develop a culture of technology ethics. –Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Oxford, and author of Privacy Is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data
