Notes for a histroy of the IEEE society on Social Implications of Technology

Abstract

This article presents the history of IEEE Technical Activities Board Committee on Social Implications of Technology (CSIT), that was later known as IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT). SSIT draws its members from an eclectic variety of engineering specializations, as well as from professions outside engineering. As awareness of ethical and social implications of new technologies rises, it will make sense for more technically focused societies to participate in further collaborative ventures with SSIT. In principle, every member of IEEE should find something of interest in the activities of SSIT, since it is hard to think of a technology without social implications. But the same factor that makes SSIT such an interesting mix of people with various technical and professional backgrounds also means that SSIT membership is usually not the primary reason that professionals join IEEE. Besides this difference between SSIT and most other IEEE societies, there is a basic philosophical difference as well, at least according to some