The Case for Anticipating Undesirable Consequences of Computing Innovations Early, Often, and Across Computer Science

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the importance of proactively anticipating and addressing the negative societal impacts of computing innovations early and often, to foster responsible development in computer science.

Contribution

It highlights the need for a cultural shift in computer science to prioritize early consideration of undesirable consequences of technology.

Findings

Researchers recognize the value of preemptive thinking about risks

Currently, undesirable consequences are often addressed only after deployment

A cultural change is needed to embed anticipation of risks into research practices

Abstract

From smart sensors that infringe on our privacy to neural nets that portray realistic imposter deepfakes, our society increasingly bears the burden of negative, if unintended, consequences of computing innovations. As the experts in the technology we create, Computer Science (CS) researchers must do better at anticipating and addressing these undesirable consequences proactively. Our prior work showed that many of us recognize the value of thinking preemptively about the perils our research can pose, yet we tend to address them only in hindsight. How can we change the culture in which considering undesirable consequences of digital technology is deemed as important, but is not commonly done?