Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies

An Introduction

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55613/jeet.v35i1.190

Keywords:

Socially Disruptive Technologies, Democracy, Ethics, Conceptual Disruption, Responsibility

Abstract

This review essay critically engages with Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies: An Introduction (Ibo van de Poel et al., 2023), a volume that explores how emerging technologies generate not only practical and social upheavals but also conceptual disruptions that destabilize categories such as democracy, responsibility, personhood, and nature. By advancing a framework of conceptual gaps, overlaps, and misalignments, the book highlights how technological change compels conceptual engineering and technomoral reflection. While its strengths lie in methodological clarity, intercultural ambition, and theoretical provocation, its limitations include Eurocentric scope and uneven empirical grounding. Overall, the volume is a significant contribution that redefines the ethics of technology and offers vital implications for future research, pedagogy, and anticipatory policy design.

References

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2. Gardiner, S. M. (2011). A perfect moral storm: The ethical tragedy of climate change. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195379440.003.0002

3. Haslanger, S. (2020). Going on, not in the same way. In H. Cappelen, D. Plunkett, & A. Burgess (Eds.), Conceptual engineering and conceptual ethics (pp. 230–260). Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198801856.003.0012

4. Swierstra, T. (2013). Nanotechnology and technomoral change. Etica & Politica / Ethics & Politics, XV(1), 200–219.

5. Van de Poel, I., Frank, L., Hermann, J., Hopster, J., Lenzi, D., Nyholm, S., Taebi, B., & Ziliotti, E. (Eds.). (2023). Ethics of socially disruptive technologies: An introduction. Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0366 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0366

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Published

2025-09-22

How to Cite

Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies: An Introduction. (2025). Journal of Ethics and Emerging Technologies, 35(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.55613/jeet.v35i1.190

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