Blinded by data : The risks of the implicit focus on data in ICT for Sustainability

Sustainability is a normative concept, building on ideas such as justice, equity and responsibility, and based on human culture and society. Computers, internet, and the technologies that are central in our network society embed also normative values and are part of a cultural context. But the work looking at computer technologies and sustainability has been mostly oriented towards either calculating the impact of technology or using technology as a tool for solving practical problems. ICT is seen as a neutral system to be used or study, while the more normative aspects are mostly overlooked. This paper explores some of the problems arising from these overlooked normative values, such as focusing only on quantifiable problems while forgetting other aspects that may be as important but not easy to put in numbers, or trusting too much in numbers while hiding assumption and model choices. This paper suggests that more critical reflection on these questions is needed in the research area, as well as developing more connections with existing research on these topics in more traditional disciplines.QC 20150122