A Values-led Approach to Technological Change

In this article, I argue that as technology advances at ever faster rates, it is imperative to approach each new technological development through the lens of core values. Criminal and community justice and higher education are discussed to highlight how technological developments can challenge our values and progress on parallel tracks. In community justice, technology has been most prominent in the utilization of electronic monitoring and tracking. EM was initially promoted as an alternative to custody but is increasingly utilized as an adjunct to custody, an extra element of punishment, or as an extra level of surveillance. It is important to interrogate the values of the use of this technology and the impact of monitoring on individuals and diverse and possibly disadvantaged groups. It is also important to study if the use of technology support inhibits rehabilitation. Higher Education has a long history of being challenged and disrupted by technology. Most recently, it is the use of Artificial Intelligence that has raised anxiety. If the skills and abilities that universities teach become redundant and how educators tell whether students are submitting assignments written by themselves are also important to research. The results of such discussions provide educational values in the purpose and nature of education.