Post on 23-Dec-2015
The Digital Unknown:
Assessing the Impact of ICTs on
Human Environment and Health
Lorenz ErdmannInstitute for Futures Studies and
Technology Assessmentwww.izt.de
A weightless and frictionless economy?
What do we know now?
• ICT waste: growth, „Exporting harm“
• ICT electricity: a few %s, growth
• Absolute growth of transport, energy, GHG, MSW
• ICT impact: –20 to + 30 %
• „E-Smog“: proof of biological, but not of adverse effects
• Digital opportunities: e.g. home care
• Stress: from ICT at work to pervasive computing
• New ethical questions: e.g. implantates
Environment Health
Need for new policy paradigms
ICT Efficiency Dematerialises the Economy
Framework Conditions
Decisive
Reactive and Regional
Policy
Participatory Technology Development
Technology Driven
Development
Proactive and Global
Policy
• Few incentives
• Rebound-Effects
• Pervasive Computing
• Acceptance Problems
• Innovation Dynamics
• Prisoners Dilemma
Conclusion
1. MEAs are crucial to take advantage of the dematerialisation potential of ICTs
2. A global Roadmap for Sustainable ICTs should be developed using existing networks as nuclei
3. New tasks for the EU and the UN include participatory technology assessment and transfer of well adapted ICTs for developing countries
Thank you!
Lorenz Erdmann
www.izt.de
www.sustainable-ict.info