Which Tech Does Society Need?

Summary

The paper shows how we can remain capable of acting in times of technological change. For this purpose, the authors have chosen a three-dimensional approach, which comprises society as a whole, the economic system as well as the individual.

Main thesis:

We need to innovate our entrepreneurial landscape and our democratic processes of deliberation in order to adequately address and represent social matters through technological change. At the core of this innovation are:

• Businesses that receive their capacity for action on the basis of their contribution to society – rather than on the mere basis of a license to operate.
• It will be necessary to establish a license to innovate, more specifically to co-innovate.
• In order to make co-innovation possible, we need to further develop our economic as well as our socio-political structures and processes and their respective forms of participation for civil society.

The discussion paper is written in German. 

Technological Change should not be an end in itself

The innovation series #Tech4Society is dedicated to value-based technological change with the goal of social and ecological progress at its core. In close cooperation with and support by an informed set of partners from academia, the public and private sector, and civil society, the aim is to map out a way whereby new technologies address the central challenges of our era, including the climate crisis, social inequalities and increasing political polarisation in our democracies.

Which new technologies are needed for societal progress? 

At the centre of the #Tech4Society deliberation is the fundamental question of which new technologies are needed for societal progress by taking into account the intersection of the economy, society, and the individual.

• Economy: How can new technologies contribute to a social and ecological responsible economic model?
• Individual: How can new technologies help secure individual and societal welfare?
• Society: How can new technologies foster social cohesion?

Autor:innen

Dr. Daniela Blaschke

Policy Fellow

Daniela Blaschke is responsible for building the public affairs team at PowerCo SE, Volkswagen Group's battery entity founded in 2022, and is a member of the Volkswagen Group Future Heads Network. Before she was living and working Japan for two years, supporting research and development teams at Volkswagen Group Japan by looking into the regulatory and socio-political context of innovation in South and East Asia.

Florian Ranft

Member of the Management Board and Head of Green New Deal

Florian Ranft is a member of the Management Board and is head of Green New Deal & Progressive Governance at Das Progressive Zentrum.

Das #Tech4Society Konsortium

Content

Summary
Authors

Dr. Daniela Blaschke

Policy Fellow

Florian Ranft

Member of the Management Board and Head of Green New Deal