Book contents
- Moral Imagination in the Twenty-first Century
- Moral Imagination in the Twenty-first Century
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Why Do Good People and Great Organizations Do Bad Things?
- 3 Social Constructivism and the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme
- 4 The Rashomon Effect
- 5 Moral Imagination
- 6 Moral Reasoning and Moral Imagination
- 7 Systems Thinking, Process Philosophy, and Moral Imagination
- 8 Next Stages
- 9 Moral Imagination in Technological Development
- References
- Index
9 - Moral Imagination in Technological Development
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 October 2025
Book contents
- Moral Imagination in the Twenty-first Century
- Moral Imagination in the Twenty-first Century
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Why Do Good People and Great Organizations Do Bad Things?
- 3 Social Constructivism and the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme
- 4 The Rashomon Effect
- 5 Moral Imagination
- 6 Moral Reasoning and Moral Imagination
- 7 Systems Thinking, Process Philosophy, and Moral Imagination
- 8 Next Stages
- 9 Moral Imagination in Technological Development
- References
- Index
Summary
The day-to-day decisions of technologists have a profound role in shaping people’s interactions with the world. As many philosophers of technology have argued, every technological decision can also be seen as an ethical one. The shape and affordances of technologies determine what people can do with them, and how social systems evolve around them. Most technologists generally have positive intentions and strive to do good, but the ethical outcomes of their work can be particularly complex and unpredictable. Adverse consequences can often arise not from malice but from failure to appreciate the full implications of technological advancements amidst the delicate interplay between technology, human behavior, and social dynamics.
In our roles at Google, we have heard a strong desire to reshape technology development processes to explicitly incorporate ethical and social considerations.
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- Moral Imagination in the Twenty-first CenturyIndividuals and Organizations, pp. 173 - 195Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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