Wnderlan...e Dilemmas of WnderlanDecisions in the Age of Innovation Yakov Ben-Haim e Dilemmas of...
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e Dilemmas of Wonderland Decisions in the Age of Innovation Yakov Ben-Haim e Dilemmas of Wonderland Yakov Ben-Haim To use or not to use a new and promising but unfamiliar and hence uncertain innovation? at dilemma faces just about everybody. e innovation dilemma arises from new technology, new attitudes, or new opportunities. Even belief in innovation as the source of all that is good entails a dilemma. OXFORD OXFORD University Press Yakov Ben-Haim initiated info-gap decision theory for modeling and managing severe uncertainty. He is a professor of mechanical engineering and holds the Yitzhak Moda'i Chair in Technology and Economics at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. The Dilemmas of Wonderland Decisions in the Age of Innovation Yakov Ben-Haim http://yakov.technion.ac.il Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2018 ISBN 978-0-198-822233 Innovations create both opportunities and dilemmas. Innovations provide new and purportedly bet- ter opportunities, but because of their newness they are often more uncertain and potentially worse than existing options. There are new drugs, new energy sources, new foods, new manufacturing technologies, new toys and new pedagogical methods, new weapon systems, new home appliances and many other discoveries and inventions. To use or not to use a new and promising but unfamiliar and hence uncertain innovation? That dilemma faces just about everybody. Furthermore, the paradigm of the innovation dilemma charac- terizes many situations even when a new technology is not actually involved. The dilemma arises from new attitudes, like individual responsibility for the global environment, or new social concep- tions, like global allegiance and self-identity transcending all nation-states. These dilemmas have far-reaching implications for individuals, organizations, and society at large as they make decisions in the age of innovation. The uncritical belief in outcome-optimization — “more is better, so most is best” — pervades decision making in all domains, but is often irresponsible when facing the un- certainties of innovation. There is a great need for accessible conceptual tools for understanding and managing the dilemmas of innovation. This book offers a new and practical direction for a wide audience. The book discusses examples from many fields, including e-reading, bipolar disorder and pregnancy, disruptive technology in industry, stock markets, agricultural productivity and world hunger, military hardware, military intelligence, biological conservation, on-line learning, and more. Yakov Ben-Haim is a professor of mechanical engineering and holds the Yitzhak Moda’i Chair in Technologyand Economics at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He initiated and de- veloped info-gap decision theory for modelling and managing severe uncertainty. Info-gap theory is applied in engineering, biological conservation, economics, project management, national security, medicine and other areas. He is the author of six books and numerous articles.
Transcript of Wnderlan...e Dilemmas of WnderlanDecisions in the Age of Innovation Yakov Ben-Haim e Dilemmas of...
�e Dilemmas of WonderlandDecisions in the Age of Innovation
Yakov Ben-Haim
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To use or not to use a new and promising but unfamiliar and hence uncertain innovation? !at dilemma faces just about everybody. !e innovation dilemma arises from new technology, new attitudes, or new opportunities. Even belief in innovation as the source of all that is good entails a dilemma.
OXFORD
OXFORDUniversity Press
Yakov Ben-Haim initiated info-gap decision theory for modeling and managing severe uncertainty. He is a professor of mechanical engineering and holds the Yitzhak Moda'i Chair
in Technology and Economics at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
The Dilemmas of WonderlandDecisions in the Age of Innovation
Yakov Ben-Haimhttp://yakov.technion.ac.il
Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2018ISBN 978-0-198-822233
Innovations create both opportunities and dilemmas. Innovations provide new and purportedly bet-ter opportunities, but because of their newness they are often more uncertain and potentially worsethan existing options. There are new drugs, new energy sources, new foods, new manufacturingtechnologies, new toys and new pedagogical methods, new weapon systems, new home appliancesand many other discoveries and inventions.
To use or not to use a new and promising but unfamiliar and hence uncertain innovation? Thatdilemma faces just about everybody. Furthermore, the paradigm of the innovation dilemma charac-terizes many situations even when a new technology is not actually involved. The dilemma arisesfrom new attitudes, like individual responsibility for the global environment, or new social concep-tions, like global allegiance and self-identity transcending all nation-states. These dilemmas havefar-reaching implications for individuals, organizations, and society at large as they make decisionsin the age of innovation. The uncritical belief in outcome-optimization — “more is better, so mostis best” — pervades decision making in all domains, but is often irresponsible when facing the un-certainties of innovation. There is a great need for accessible conceptual tools for understandingand managing the dilemmas of innovation. This book offers a new and practical direction for a wideaudience. The book discusses examples from many fields, including e-reading, bipolar disorderand pregnancy, disruptive technology in industry, stock markets, agricultural productivity and worldhunger, military hardware, military intelligence, biological conservation, on-line learning, and more.
Yakov Ben-Haim is a professor of mechanical engineering and holds the Yitzhak Moda’i Chairin Technology and Economics at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He initiated and de-veloped info-gap decision theory for modelling and managing severe uncertainty. Info-gap theory isapplied in engineering, biological conservation, economics, project management, national security,medicine and other areas. He is the author of six books and numerous articles.
