Handbook of Technology Assessment

Book excerpt: This Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of technology assessment (TA) practices, theories, methods and cultures across the globe. Highlighting the significant influence of rapidly changing technology on human life and development, it examines diverse perspectives on how TA can be developed to better meet the challenges of the future. Covering both theory and methodology, expert contributors analyse the deep changes caused by technological advances at the individual, collective and global level. They identify approaches and methods that can lead to informed, considered decisions on technology and responsible handling of their consequences. Chapters explore a wide range of TA applications across different cultural contexts as well as in various fields including AI, climate engineering, healthcare and work. Drawing on extensive practical experiences from a global movement, this Handbook is an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners of technology assessment. It is also an important guide for students of science and technology studies, the ethics of technology, risk assessment and responsible research and innovation.