Fontys

Technology Impact Cycle Tool

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If you think about the real problem this technology is going to solve. If you think about the ability of this technology to solve the real problem. If you think about possible negative effects and whether this technology will contribute to a world you want to live in. If you think about all that, what improvements would you make? In technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-5 help you to gain insight into the impact of this technology on society. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can improve the impact of this technology. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

People can get hooked to a Griefbot. That is why we allow users to set restrictions and we give them information on usage - time. Also, we believe that the Griefbot should only be used by the people very close to the deceased. That is why we give control to the user of the app (when alive) who can uase it after he/she dies. We also learned that our users need real human connection. That is why we created a community of Griefbot users.

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If you think about this technology being used to break the law, or avoid the consequences of breaking the law, or to be used against certain groups, or to attack the truth or to pit certain groups against each other. If you think about all of that, what improvements would you (want to) make? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-5 help you to gain insight into the potential impact of bad actors on this technology. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can mitigate the risks of bad actors. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

Yes. We think the Griefbot is a very personal solution, so we created a very personal two-factor security. You can only use the Griefbot with a double authentication. Also we encrypted all data in our datacenters and made sure security is very high level, so it is also impossible to hack our Griefbots. An eleborate back-up procedures makes sure, that you can always return to the Griefbot of a few weeks/months ago.

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If you think about this technology invading someone's privacy or collecting personal data and if you think about the way this technology is compliant with prevailing law and mitigates dataprotection risks and concerns. If you think about all that, what improvements would you (want to) make? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-5 help you to gain insight into the relation between privacy and and this technology. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can use these insights to improve the use of the technology. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

We are continously working on being compliant with GDPR law. On a more fundamental level, we are exploring two potential improvements. First we are thinking of a Griefbot that is completely personal, so there is only a one on one relation with the Griefbot. This solves a lot of issues with privacy. Furthermore we think that if the griefbot is personal and has the sole puropose to help one specific purpose grief, it would make sense that the person using the griefbot has some say of control over the development of the griefbot. Second we are exploring the option that a deceased person has to give permission for the Griefbot while alive. Just like a donor codicil.

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If you think about the impact of this technology on human values and needs. If you think about how this technology affects the identity of the user, the autonomy of the user (can the users make their own decisions?) and the health and well-being of the user. If you think about all that, what improvement would you (want to) make? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-3 help you to gain insight into the potential impact of this technology on human values. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can improve the use of the technology. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

For the person that becomes a Griefbot we will build some controls in the bot. First we give the opportunity to erase or activate or erase the Griefbot (so it can be connected with a testament). Second we do not provide the possibility to correct or change data during life (so you do not feel the urge to optimize the data). user we decided to build controls in the bot. For the beloved ones, we inform the user of extreme use, we give the option to restrict access and we provide a distress-button for when the Griefbot misbehaves.

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If you think about all stakeholders of this technology. If you think about stakeholders that are less obvious. If you think about the way certain stakeholders are affected by this technology and if you want to take them into consideration. If you think about all that, what would you (want to) improve? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-2 help you to gain insight into the stakeholders of this technology. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can improve the use of this technology.. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

By our stakeholder-analysis we even more realized that we can only support one on one relationships with a Griefbot. If more people want to use the Griefbot, there will be more Griefbots. We will create one primarily user, who can allow access to other users, but they will talk to their own version.

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If you think about the limitations of data. Things like subjectivity, incomplete datasets and so on. If you think about the way new insights are handled. If you think about the sustainability of the collection of data or the data that is collected from the users. If you think about all that, what would you (want to) improve? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-4 help you to gain insight into the potential impact of the use of data on this technology. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can improve the use of the technology. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

Not at the moment, no.

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If you think about accessibility to this technology. If you think about built in biases or automatic decisions that may be biased. If you think about who is benefitting from this technology and the diversity of the team that creates the technology. If you think about all that, what improvements would you (want to) make? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-5 help you to gain insight into the potential impact of this technology when it comes to fairness. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can improve the use of the technology. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

Yes. Based on this discussion we decided to limit the accessibility of the griefbot to one person. A person that has a death certificate and usernames and passwords. The user can buy additional licenses. Secondly we started a discussion with life Insurance companies to include a griefbot - possibility so we make it even more affordable for everyone.

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If you think about the communication on the way the technology works and the businessmodel. If you think about the explanation on automatic decisions that are made. If you think about complaint procedures and transparency on possible negative effects. If you think about all that, what would you (want to) improve? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-4 help you to gain insight into the potential impact of the need for transparency on this technology. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can improve the use of the technology. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

Based on the last question we created a specific section on our website in which we explicitly - by a questionnaire - help users to make the right decision. We tell them about the large social impact of the Griefbot, we share user stories and we explicitly tell them that the griefbot is an impersonation of the deceased, that is created by an AI that is by design a black box for us. This helps the user to make the right decision. We also have plans to provide a feedback-section, reviews and community for users.

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If you think about the direct and indirect energy use and the materials that are used in the technology. If you think about the lifespan of the technology and the hidden environmental impact of the technology. If you think about all that, what improvements would you (want to) make? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-4 help you to gain insight into the potential impact of this technology on the environment. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can improve the use of the technology. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

We are currently investigating if we can offload certain resources to the local client.

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If you think about an utopian and a dystopian scenario. If you think about the way this technology can change the world. If you think about the consequences of a different party buying your technology. If you think about all that, what would you (want to) improve? In the technology? In context? In use? The answers on questions 1-5 help you to gain insight into the potential impact of this technology in the future. The goal of these answers is not to provide you with a 'go' or ' no go' - decision. The goal is to make you think HOW you can improve the use of the technology. This can be by making changes to the technology or making changes to the context in which the technology is used, or making changes in the way the technology is used.

An example: Griefbot

Maybe we should decide on not making or implementing things if the future scenario's turn out to be too radical. But things will change and society changes as well. And what will happen if somebody else decides differently? Do we really have an opt-out if the standard is to opt-in or is this just an illusion? Do we really have a choice?