Paper details
| Paper authors | Matthew Hunt |
| In panel on | Ethics and Technology in Humanitarian Settings |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting |
In-Person / |
Abstract
The 2010 Haiti earthquake has been described as a living laboratory in which innovative technologies were used by local and international responders to assist with search and rescue, relief coordination, and live mapping. In subsequent humanitarian crises, emergent technologies have been employed to address a widening range of population needs. While acknowledging the potential benefits of emergent technologies, humanitarian organizations and their technology partners should also carefully consider how values and innovation intersect. In this context, the description of a living laboratory is suggestive. It highlights the uncertainty associated with trialing new innovations in settings that are tumultuous, strained and often insecure. Careful consideration is needed for how innovations relate to ethical commitments, including principles of independence, impartiality and neutrality, and avoiding harm, demonstrating respect, protecting and sustaining dignity, being accountable, and promoting justice, amongst others. To achieve this goal, humanitarian organizations will need to demonstrate ethical attentiveness across the innovation cycle, extending what Springer describes as “a temporally continuous thread of attention” (2013, p. 141) and critical self-awareness. I will illustrate this discussion of ethical attentiveness for emergent humanitarian technologies by drawing on examples from the field of crisis translation.
Presenters
McGill University