Civic Tech Field Guide
Sharing knowledge and productively growing the fieldAdjacent Fields > Ethical tech and responsible tech - (210)
While the first generations of tech-for-good work took a solutionist approach to addressing existing problems with new technology, scholars and activists are driving growing awareness of the problems with technology itself. By exposing the negative consequences, intended or otherwise, of tech, these communities draw attention to issues with tech-centric approaches. Not all of the projects here adopt an ethics lens in their work, but we use it here for simplicity's sake.
Suggested reading:
- 10 things we should all demand from Big Tech right now, Vox (2019)
- Technology Ethics in Action: Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Edited by Ben Green.
Showing 210 Results
Harvard Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative (DIGI)
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USAThrough public reports and briefings with policymakers, business leaders, and civil society organizations, the Initiative will highlight digital platform reform options, as well as offer expertise on legislative reform proposals and platform self-governance options.
*privacy not included
Mountain View, CA, USAMozilla Foundation's annual naughty and nice list of consumer tech's privacy policies
Clinic to End Tech Abuse (CETA)
New York CityThe Clinic to End Tech Abuse (CETA) helps survivors of intimate partner violence end tech-related abuse.
The Distributed AI Research Institute is a space for independent, community-rooted AI research free from Big Tech’s pervasive influence.
Principles for Digital Development
United Nations FoundationA set of guidelines that help development practitioners integrate established best practices into technology-enabled programmes.
Block Party app
United States of America (the)Consumer tools for online safety & anti-harassment. Automatically hide unwanted tweets & mute the trolls (review later, but only if you want!).
We are a community of integrity professionals—the people who build platforms to be better.
Just Tech Fellowship
United States of America (the)The Social Science Research Council's Just Tech Fellowship supports and mobilizes diverse and cross-sector cohorts of researchers and practitioners to imagine and create more just, equitable, and representative technological futures.
The Privacy Principles for Mobility Data are a set of values and priorities intended to guide the mobility ecosystem in the responsible use of data and the protection of individual privacy.
The ODI's white paper on ethical data policies
Journal of Online Trust and Safety
Stanford University, Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, USAThe Journal of Online Trust and Safety is a cross-disciplinary, open access, fast peer-review journal that publishes research on how consumer internet services are abused to cause harm and how to prevent those harms.
The Tech Worker Handbook is a collection of resources for tech workers who are looking to make more informed decisions about whether to speak out on issues that are in the public interest
World Bank Data for Better Lives report
Washington, DCCovering data for social good, data governance, and societal-level data considerations
Co-op Foundation
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)The Co-op Foundation helps disadvantaged communities overcome their challenges by putting co-operative values into practice. It aims to stimulate and strengthen community action that connects and empowers people so they can work together to make things better.
JAAKLAC initiative
Finland (Suomi)Reseaching and advocating for critical digital education and youth participation from Latin America and the Majority World
Openly Operated
535 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, United StatesThe free transparency certification
Up & Go
443 39th St, Brooklyn, NY 11232, United StatesHome cleaning in NYC you can feel great about
Based in marginalized neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina, Detroit, Michigan, and Los Angeles, California, we look at digital data collection and our human rights, work with local communities, community organizations, and social support networks, and show how different data systems impact re-entry, fair housing, public assistance, and community development.
Data & Society Research Institute
Data & Society Research Institute, West 20th Street, New York, NY, USAData & Society is a research institute focused on the social and cultural issues arising from data-centric technological development.
Ranking Digital Rights
740 15th Street, N.W., Suite 900 Washington, DC 20005Ranking ICT sector companies on respect for free expression and privacy
Mozilla Foundation
Mozilla, East Evelyn Avenue, Mountain View, CA, USAEstablished in 2003, guided by the Mozilla Manifesto, the Mozilla Foundation believes the Internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible to all.
Data Justice Lab
Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UKThe Data Justice Lab examines the intricate relationship between datafication and social justice, highlighting the politics and impacts of data-driven processes and big data
Global Network Initiative
718 7th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20001, USAProtecting and advancing freedom of expression and privacy in information and communications technologies.
We help everyone to shape and claim the future of the Web.
European AI & Society Fund
Rue Royale 941000, Brussels, BelgiumThe European AI Fund is a philanthropic initiative to shape the direction of AI in Europe
The Cleaners
Boxhagener Str. 106, 10245 Berlin, GermanyIt tells of the global impact of online censorship and shows how fake news and hatred are disseminated and strengthened by the social networks.
Speak Out Tech
Worcester, MAWhat if Tech said
Darcy will allow everyone to run their own federated social media instance – without having to worry about technology, moderation or legal compliance, because Darcy will take care of that for you – if you want!
Outbreak Science Rapid PREreview
Portland, ORA platform for the rapid review of outbreak-related preprints
From a cutting-edge cultural commentator, a bold and brilliant challenge to cherished notions of the Internet as the great leveler of our age The Internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratizing force
A powerful investigative look at data-based discrimination—and how technology affects civil and human rights and economic equity
The Center for Humane Technology is a world-class team of former tech insiders and CEOs who are advancing thoughtful solutions to change the culture, business incentives, design techniques, and organizational structures driving how technology hijacks our brains.
Digital Impact
Stanford University, Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, USADigital Impact (formerly Markets for Good) is an initiative of the Digital Civil Society Lab to improve the data infrastructure for social good and help civil society organizations use digital resources safely, ethically and effectively.
Data Harm Record
Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UKThe aim of this document is to provide a running record of ‘data harms’, harms that have been caused by uses of big data. The goal is to document and learn from where things have gone wrong.
Bail-setting algorithms in Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia should think twice about its risk-assessment algorithm.
Creative technology companies, fully owned and controlled by the people who do the work.
Fairwork
University of Oxford, 1 St Giles', Oxford OX1 3JS, UKThe Fairwork Foundation is a project that is working to set and measure standards in the platform economy.
ethiTech
New York CityOur goal is to exponentially accelerate our ability to address global challenges that threaten our existence.
Ethics In Tech
Bay Area, CA, USAEthics In Technology works towards increased awareness around the ethical use of technology and seeks to make a positive impact through engaging the public at all levels of our society in conversation about these issues.
Principled Artificial Intelligence
Berkman Center For Internet, Everett Street, Cambridge, MA, USAA map of ethical and rights-based approaches
The RD community is a place for those who use data in social change and advocacy to develop practical approaches to addressing the ethical, legal, social and privacy-related challenges they face.
PeaceTech Living Learning Community
Waterloo, ON, CanadaExploring the intersection of peace-building and technology—critically reflecting on the social impact of technology and fostering the creation of “tech for good.”
The Project on Governing the Digital Public Sphere
New Haven, CTTo support the Yale Information Society Project’s work on how law should regulate and social media companies should govern the digital public sphere
The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots is a growing global coalition of 165 international, regional, and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 65 countries that is working to preemptively ban fully autonomous weapons.
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Civic Tech Field Guide