Information technology is among the greatest forces of change in human history. Social responsibility is among the most central notions that support any society. Although technology is often blamed for reproducing past tendencies and the status quo and systems of social responsibility are being challenged and reformed throughout the world, it is indisputable that the combination of the two in the context of the 21 st century poses new questions, opens up new policy alternatives, and raises new issues that we are only beginning to comprehend.
In this two-day conference jointly held by the CUHK School of Journalism and Communication, the MIT International Committee on Critical Policy Studies of China, and Creative Commons China Mainland, we address the theme of IT and social responsibility from the perspectives of individual citizens and end-user communities, state, public and private organizations, and their complex interrelationships, using China as the starting point of our investigations. Are systems of social responsibility evaporating from their traditional basis of nation-state governments and local communities because IT developments facilitate globalization, liberalization, and privatization? How are new arrangements in outsourcing, informal economy, and social movement change the ways we organize work, consumption, and public life? What are the personal, organizational, and social consequences of irresponsibility, in places as diverse as rural villages, working-class neighborhoods, factories, and companies? How can new interactive digital platforms and open content movement such as Creative Commons respond to the demand for more innovative methods and more creative ways of thinking and collaboration? In what ways should IT be transformed in response to the concept of social responsibility?
Our working hypothesis is that IT-based social structures are both imposed from the top down and emerging from the bottom up; and they give rise to diverse conceptions of social responsibility that may conflict with each other. It is, therefore, imperative that we understand the issues at stake. To this end, we plan to bring together leading scholars, policy analysts, advocates, and key public and private actors working to promote social responsibility beyond the usual obsession with the maximization of profitability and vested interests in the IT industry. Many participants have developed specific expertise in the China field. But we are interested in exploring comparative frameworks and extending our discussions beyond a single country.
Articles presented in the conference will be selected to make up a book volume or special issue.