Evaluating Emerging ICTs: A Critical Capability Approach of Technology

Abstract

The present chapter sets out to provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the social implications of emerging ICTs, whose uses and consequences are often ambiguous and contradictory. Drawing on two distinct but related bodies of theory, namely the capability approach and critical social theory in information systems, the chapter proposes the Critical Capability Approach of Technology (CCAT). This approach to evaluation will be useful for policy makers, technology designers and developers, and consumers who have to consider the social consequences of technologies. The CCAT is applied to explore the possible implications of three examples of emerging ICTs: affective computing, ambient intelligence, and neuro-electronics.