ISTAS is the flag ship conference of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology [SSIT]
The IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT)’s Field of Interest according to its constitution is:
The impact of technology (as embodied by the fields of interest of IEEE) on society, including both positive and negative effects, the impact of society on the engineering profession, the history of the societal aspects of electro technology, and professional social and economic responsibility in the practice of engineering and its related technology.
The society was founded in 1972 as the Committee on Social Implications of Technology. It was given its current name in 1982.
SSIT operates as a Society under the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB)
2022 is the 50th Foundation Day of IEEE’s Commitment on Social Implications of Technology.
IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS), the flagship event of IEEE Society for Social Implications of Technology (SSIT), is a multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary forum for engineers, policy makers, entrepreneurs, philosophers, researchers, social scientists, technologists, and polymaths to collaborate, exchange experiences, and discuss the social implications of technology.
Please find below an overview of past ISTAS events:
Year | Date | Location | Theme | Chair(s) |
1989 | Oct. 20 - 21 | Los Angeles, USA | A Delicate Balance: Technics, Culture and Consequences | Chantal Toporow |
1991 | June 21-22 | Toronto, Canada | Preparing for a Sustainable Society | Walter Zessner |
1993 | Oct. 22-23 | Washington, DC, USA | Technology: Whose costs? Whose benefits? | Bill Kelly |
1996 | June 21-22 | Princeton, New Jersey, USA | Technical Expertise and Public Decisions | Clint Andrews |
1997 | June 20-21 | Glasgow, Scotland | Technology and Society at a Time of Sweeping Change | Simon Burne |
1998 | June 12-13 | South Bend, Indiana | Wiring the World: The Impact of Information Technology on Society | Karl Perusich |
1999 | July 29-31 | South Bend, Indiana | Wiring the World: The Impact of Information Technology on Society | David Morton |
2000 | Sept. 6-8 | Rome, Italy | University as a Bridge from Technology to Society | Valerio Cimagalli, Marco Balsi |
2001 | July 6-7 | Stamford, Connecticut, USA | Ethical and Social Issues Criteria in Academic Accreditation | Jerry Engel, Brian O’Connell |
2002 | June 6-8 | Raleigh, North Carolina, USA | Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology | Joseph Herkert |
2003 | Sept. 26-28 | Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Technology, Crime Prevention, and Security | Hin Oey |
2004 | June 17-19 | Worcester, Massachusetts, USA | Globalizing Technological Education | Lance Schachterle, Rick Vaz |
2005 | June 8-10 | Los Angeles, California, USA | Weapons and Wires: Social Implications of ICT and Global Security | Philip Chmielewski |
2006 | June 8-10 | New York, USA | Disaster Preparedness and Recovery | Roberta Brody |
2007 | June 1-2 | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | Risk, Uncertainty, Vulnerability, Technology and Society | Dr. David M. Hassenzahl |
2008 | Jun 26- 28 | New Brunswick, Canada | Citizens, Groups, Communities and Information and Communication Technologies | Dr. Susan O’Donnell, Dr. Clinton Andrews |
2009 | May 18-20 | Tempe, Arizona,USA | Social Implications of Sustainable Development | Joseph Herkert |
2010 | June 7-9 | Wollongong, Australia | Social Implications of Emerging Technologies | Mark Gasson |
2011 | May 23-25 | Chicago, USA | Interactions of Technology Society | Michael Loui, Mary-Sheila Tracy |
2012 | Oct. 27-29 | Singapore | Technology and Society in Asia | Dr Michael Arnold |
2013 | June 27-29 | Toronto, Canada | Smart World - living in a smart World - people as sensors | Steve Mann |
2014 | May 23-24 | Chicago, USA | Ethics – a challenge to the scientific and engineering community | Keith Miller, Joe Herkert |
2015 | Nov. 11-12 | Dublin, Ireland | Culture, Ethics and the Knowledge Society | Paul Cunningham (Chair), Miriam Cunningham (Technical Program Chair) |
2016 | Oct. 21-22 | Kerala, India | Ethics and Pervasive Computing Technologies | Charles Despins, Jaafar Elmirgani |
2017 | Aug. 9-11 | Sydney, Australia | From Good Ideas to Practical Solutions | Paul Cunningham (Chair), Miriam Cunningham (Technical Program Chair) |
2018 | Nov. 13-14 | Washington DC, USA | Technology, Ethics and Policy | Paul Cunningham (Chair), Miriam Cunningham (Technical Program Chair) |
2019 | Nov. 15-16 | Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Technology, Sustainable Development and Ethics | Paul Cunningham (Chair), Miriam Cunningham (Technical Program Chair) |
2020 | Nov. 12-15 | Virtual (Phoenix), Arizona, USA | Public Interest Technology | Katina Michael (Chair), Roba Abbas (Technical Program Chair) |
2021 | Oct. 28-31 | Virtual (Waterloo), Canada | Technology Stewardship and Responsible Innovation | Heather A. Love / Rozita Dara (Chairs), Brandiff Caron, Ketra Schimitt (Technical Program Chairs) |