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An Intra- and Inter-generational Lens into Rapid Technological Change

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Abstract

Technology change is not a new phenomenon and has often been accompanied with uncertainty. Today, we continue to see rapid technological change with unprecedented impact on the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of our societies. These effects are often only realized in hindsight, when their some impact (both positive and negative) can be irreversible. This article outlines various trends aimed at better characterizing technology change today, how this change can be oriented to better serve people and planet, and foresight on its impact on inequalities both within and across generations.

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Notes

  1. 2030 Agenda (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld).

  2. 72/242, 73/13.

  3. World Economic and Social Survey 2018: Frontier technologies for sustainable development (https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/WESS2018_full_web.pdf).

  4. Technology and Innovation Report 2018: Harnessing Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development (https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/tir2018_en.pdf).

  5. https://www.un.org/en/newtechnologies/images/pdf/SGs-Strategy-on-New-Technologies.pdf.

  6. Practical Action UK: https://practicalaction.org/knowledge-centre/resources/technology-justice-a-call-to-action/.

  7. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1700/RR1744/RAND_RR1744.pdf.

  8. http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/15913/1/TWI2050-for-web.pdf.

  9. https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/scientific-tool/rapid-natural-hazard-triggered-technological-accidents-natech-risk-analysis-and-mapping.

  10. https://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/pgasite/documents/webpage/pga_176434.pdf.

  11. https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/dtlstict2019d4_en.pdf.

  12. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/research-centres-and-groups/icept/7294726.PDF.

  13. Technical Change, External Economies, and the Porter Hypothesis, https://doi.org/10.1006/jeem.2000.1166.

  14. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/1/270/htm.

  15. Technological revolutions and techno-economic paradigms, http://e-tcs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/PEREZ-Carlota-Technological-revolutions-and-techno-economic-paradigms1.pdf.

  16. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d8c7/5e833e591c0e06b047a30fb7bf76a50a4ce0.pdf.

References

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Acknowledgements

Members of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth for their rich contributions during various consultations and meetings on this topic. Such spaces helped promote critical debate, exchange of ideas, and mutual learning.

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  1. Institute for Data, Systems and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA

    Donovan Guttieres

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  1. Donovan Guttieres
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Correspondence to Donovan Guttieres.

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Guttieres, D. An Intra- and Inter-generational Lens into Rapid Technological Change. Development 62, 37–42 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41301-019-00220-5

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