IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2019 - 32

GUEST EDITORIAL

Roba Abbas

ontempora r y a nd
emerging digital tech-
nologies are leading
us to question the ways
in which humans in-
teract with machines and with com-
plex socio-technical systems. The
new dynamics of technology and
human interaction will inevitably
exert pressure on existing ethical
frameworks and regulatory bodies.
This will require the development
of innovative approaches to Human
Computer Interaction (HCI), and
methods to support the design of
complex socio-technical systems.
HCI is an interdisciplinary field
of study based on a user-centered
approach to the design of contempo-
rary and complex computer systems
[1]. HCI is fundamentally concerned
with all facets of human engagement
with these systems, ideally spanning
initial design to post-implementa-
tion evaluation efforts. An underlying
principle of HCI is the requirement
the design and development of
tech nology be for the benefit of
individuals (users) and society at
large, through the employment of
distinct user-oriented approaches
and methodologies. Designing for
the benefit of users and society is
generally achieved through consider-
ation of all forms of contact between
humans and machines. Analysis is
traditionally through user interfaces
[2], but this has been, and to some
degree still is, particularly difficult
given the lack of usability often asso-

C

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2019.2948448
Date of current version: 2 December 2019

32

Stephen Marsh

Kristina Milanović

Ethics and System
Design in a
New Era of Human-
Computer Interaction
This issue commences with two
conventional HCI articles surveying
and interpreting attitudes towards
new technology in the form of Autono-
mous Weapon Systems (AWS) and
social robotics. The introductory paper
by Verdiesen et al. on moral values
related to AWS presents the results of
a survey whereby the morality of such
systems is evaluated by both military
personnel and the general public.
The comparison of trust, anxiety, and
blame attribution between the two
groups raises interesting questions
about the gaps in public knowledge
relating to Artificial Intelligence tech-
nology. Furthermore, the values of
human dignity and anxiety are recur-
ring themes that must be addressed
in ensuing discussions around AWS
and AI.
The second article, by Campa-
nozzi et al., furthers the exploration
of AI in the context of social robot-
ics. The manuscript reports on the
outcomes of a pilot survey of student
perceptions of trust in social robots
when integrated in everyday life,
which yielded 1213 valid responses.

ciated with initial forms of personal
computing [3].
As technology pervades all as-
pects of our existence, and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and machine learn-
ing systems become commonplace,
a new era of HCI is emerging that will
involve directing our focus beyond
traditional approaches, to span other
intricate interactions with computer-
based systems. This new phase will
inevitably challenge our basic under-
standing of what HCI means, and of
how we define and design our inter-
actions with a range of technological
systems, some of which claim to be
"intelligent" and are visible, while
others operate covertly and remain
largely undetected.
This special issue presents a variety
of papers that collectively demon-
strate ethical and regulatory challenges
stemming from human engagement
with diverse socio-technical systems,
from those that are intended to be
implemented on a smaller-scale and
to impact individuals, to those that
have consequences for entire coun-
tries, cultures, and societies.
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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DECEMBER 2019
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2019
