Purpose– This paper aims to provide an overview of clean information and communication technology, including a brief review of recent developments in the field and a lengthy set of possible reading matter. The need to rethink the impact of ICTs on people’s lives and the survival of the planet is beginning to be addressed by a Slow Tech approach. Among Slow Tech’s main questions are these two: Is ICT sustainable in the long term? What should be done by computer ethics (...) scholars, computer professionals, policy makers and society in general to ensure that clean ICT can be produced, used and appropriately disposed of?Design/methodology/approach– The paper is based on a comprehensive review of clean tech-related literature and an investigation of progress made in the clean tech field.Findings– This opening paper of aJournal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Societyspecial session aims to provide an overview of clean ICT, including a brief review of recent developments in the field and a lengthy set of possible reading matter. As a result, it is anticipated that Slow Tech – and in this case, its second component of clean ICT – can provide a compass to steer research, development and the use and reuse of environmentally friendly, sustainable ICT.Originality/value– This conceptual paper emphasises that, until only recently, no one questioned the potential long-term sustainability of ICT. This issue is, however, now very much a matter that is on the research and teaching, and action, agenda. (shrink)

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine how Slow Tech can support the celebration of the 20-year series of ETHICOMP conferences, with its ethical and societal focus, building on earlier descriptions of Slow Tech. The paper takes Slow Tech’s ideas a step further to explore how a roadmap and concrete checklist of activities can be developed.Design/methodology/approach– The paper is a thought leadership or conceptual piece. Its approach is based on a normative, qualitative discourse. It, nevertheless, indicates a shift (...) towards concrete actions.Findings– Extracting from a brief historical overview, the paper lays out the means of building a Slow Tech roadmap and a Slow Tech checklist of actions. It also investigates a number of the challenges that might face Slow Tech in the future.Research limitations/implications– The paper has implications for stakeholder fields as far-ranging as corporations, computing professional associations, universities and research institutions and end-users.Originality/value– As with other investigations of Slow Tech, the value of this paper is in its call for reflection followed by action. It provides a useful complement and counterbalance to an earlier paper by the same authors: “Slow Tech: a quest for good, clean and fair ICT” published inJournal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society(Vol. 12, issue 2, pp. 78-92). (shrink)

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the role of information and communication technologies in preparation for and management of human and/or nature induced disasters. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from the phenomenal growth of ICTs, initiatives aimed at disaster management, stakeholder theory, prior research and the successful development and implementation of 9-1-1, this paper explores ICTs in the context of human and/or nature induced disasters. Findings This paper discusses a new ICT for mitigating disaster management, scans, using stakeholder theory, relevant initiatives and (...) prior research to identify the stakeholders relevant for successful preparation for and management of disasters, and draws from the 9-1-1 example to discuss how ICTs can be successfully developed and adopted. Research limitations/implications There are opportunities for researchers to develop ICTs that can make countries, developing and developed, more efficient and effective in their preparation for and management of nature and human induced disasters. In addition, researchers can investigate the role of stakeholders in facilitating the adoption of new ICTs developed for disaster management. Researchers could also help public policy in designing the most efficient and effective programs for the adoption of new ICTs. Practical/implications As an example of new ICTs that can potentially mitigate the effect of disasters, this paper discusses the E711 text-message mobile phone service and provides a description of how this protocol operates and can be implemented. There are tremendous opportunities to develop new ICTs in the context of disaster management. Social/implications This paper argues that ICTs such as E711 can have a major impact on all countries in general and poor and developing nations in particular. Specifically, in the bottom of the pyramid markets, developing ICTs for BOP market in the context of managing human and nature induced disasters and ensuring the diffusion of such ICT innovations is both critical and challenging. Originality/value This paper discusses the role and importance of ICTs in disaster management, identifies relevant stakeholders, discusses how ICTs can be diffused and implemented and calls on and hopes to provide an impetus to research on ICTs that can aid in the preparation for and the management of disasters. (shrink)

As an enabler of environmental sustainability, Green information technology (IT) has become an emerging topic of interest in both academic and business communities. Despite its importance, confusions exist in the content and scope of Green IT practice. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of Green IT practice.,First 14 widely accepted Green IT practice topics were identified from prior research and a taxonomy was developed to categorize them. Using the content analysis method, these (...) topics were examined in the sustainability reports of 30 IT companies in 2014 Fortune 500. A quantity–quality portfolio framework was developed and applied to measure and assess the Green IT practices of the selected samples.,Currently, the Green IT practice is still in its infancy. Both research and practice attention are now focusing on IT’s direct impacts and enabling impacts, while overlooking the systemic impacts, on natural environment. The possible reasons for the current state and the recommendations for future research and practice are provided.,Theoretically, this paper identified 14 widely accepted Green IT practice topics and developed a taxonomy for categorizing them. The taxonomy and topics provide a theoretical basis for future examination on Green IT practice-related issues. Practically, the findings of this paper provide guidelines for Green IT practice and directions for both Green IT developers and adopters in their decision-making. (shrink)

The field of AI ethics during the current and previous decade is receiving an increasing amount of attention from all involved stakeholders: the public, science, philosophy, religious organizations, enterprises, governments, and various organizations. However, this field currently lacks consensus on scope, ethico-philosophical foundations, or common methodology. This thesis aims to contribute towards filling this gap by providing an answer to the two main research questions: first, what theory can explain moral scenarios in which AI entities are participants?; and second, what (...) theory can explain the process of moral reasoning, decision and action, for AI entities in virtual, simulated and real-life moral scenarios? This thesis answers these two research questions with its two main contributions to the field of AI ethics, a substantial and a methodological contribution. The substantial contribution is a coherent and novel theory named Ethics of Systems Framework, as well as a possible inception of a new field of study: ethics of systems. The methodological contribution is the creation of its main methodological tool, the Ethics of Systems Interface. The second part of the research effort was focused on testing and demonstrating the capacities of the Ethics of Systems Framework and Interface in modeling and managing moral scenarios in which AI and other entities participate. Further work can focus on building on top of the foundations of the Framework provided here, increasing the scope of moral theories and simulated scenarios, improving the level of detail and parameters to reflect real-life situations, and field-testing the Framework on actual AI systems. (shrink)