Smart Infrastructure and Technology Systems Ethics

Smart infrastructure and systems are being rolled out without commensurate technology impact assessments and stakeholder consultations. Consequentially, the benefits of innovation are potentially being concentrated to only a privileged parcel of the population and, whether unintended or not, this may create systems of oppression against minorities. The value of inclusive approaches to systems development is not new, and the benefits of user-centered, participatory, and co-design processes have been widely documented. However, the dominant model of systems design remains in support of processes that engineers and technologists largely lead. We have also witnessed a reverse engineering process taking place, a hacking of the populace as a living lab to fit the technology we conceive of in our social imaginaries informed by diverse experiences. At times it feels like one giant experiment in the hope of a better future by pursuing technologies and technological progression because the capability and resources exist, and we can innovate “at speed.” This speed of progression can often inhibit collaborative and participatory processes, resulting in (un-)anticipated collateral damage.