Proceedings of the 25th Annual Mersivity / Water-HCI Symposium

Proceedings of the 25th Annual Mersivity / Water-HCI Symposium

December 14th, 2023

"Sustainable Technology Society"

Abstract:

We propose a bold new initiative, {\bf Technology for Society and Sustainability}, at the intersection of:
(1) Sustainability / environment / Earth / universe / nature (physical reality, i.e. ``Atoms'');
(2) Technology / computation / virtuality (``Bits'' in the wider Claude Shannon sense that includes analog as well as digital information storage, communication, control systems, etc.); and (3) Society (humanity, the human race, and other races/species), including social constructs such as governance, law, privacy, security, trust, etc. (``Genes'').
Specifically, we regard technology as a ``container'' that encloses us.  Obvious examples include wearable technologies like clothes, wearable computers, vehicles, vessels, buildings, and cities.
Such technologies define an inside and an outside.  The outside is called the ``environment'' (our surroundings).  Conversely we refer to the inside as the ``invironment'', and the technology therebetween as the ``vironment''.  This gives rise to ``vironmentalism'', a new philosophy that examines the extent to which technology can isolate us from our environment, or help connect us to our environment.  The aim of the latter is what we call the ``Sustainable Technology Society''.