(For fun, I'm challenging you to figure out why I'm including this particular picture)
People are cynical about the social value technology has for
society. As part of my research into socially beneficial computing, I ask
random people what the phrase “computers and society” means to them.
Respondents invariably start referring to problems: people get hurt, people are
screwed over, all types of disasters can happen. Occasionally, people provide
specific examples but most of the time they say vague things about how
computers dehumanize society. Prodded to think about where computing is being
used to benefit society, they pause, and most commonly refer to the One Laptop
Per Child initiative or perhaps make a vague reference to philanthropy in
“developing countries”. They think about
large software companies that have “extra money” to spend on “side activities”.
The evidence is clear: on a gut level, public perception associates computing,
and technology driven business in general, with causing harm. People believe
there is no business case for using computers to make the world a better place.
Yet, my research has also shown that a wide range of
organizations across the country are better able to do business when they focus
on the unique role computing can play in helping people or the environment. Not
just hi-tech companies either. I studied several dozen organizations that
achieved dramatic improvements in executing their core mission by leveraging
computing for the public good.
There are many ways to both benefit the public and support
your mission with computing. One approach is to take advantage of state of the
art advances in computer hardware and software. For example, the Children’sHospital of Philadelphia started with an industry standard PACS for storing and
managing their digital images. Unfortunately, the proprietary system did not
deal effectively with the demands of modern complex healthcare data. Nurses and
doctors who want to spend their time on patient care found themselves having to
spend time on wasteful and expensive activities such as manually retrieving
digital images. After implementing a
Vendor Neutral Archive, the hospital was able to more efficiently store and
retrieve images and to achieve significant cost savings. Stakeholders such as
doctors and radiologists were pleased. Most importantly, patient care was
improved because imaging data became more rapidly and reliably available,
greatly reducing instances of patients “getting the run-around”. The hospital’s
already world-renowned reputation for excellence in children’s medical care
increased even more.
A second approach uses distributed computing such that
experts can combine forces and make discoveries no single person or institution
could make alone. For example, in another healthcare project, a team of
interdisciplinary neonatologists, known as The Children’s Hospitals Neonatal
Consortium (CHNC), is collaborating with The Child Health Corporation ofAmerica, based in Kansas City, to develop a national database to identify and
share best practice recommendations for rare, life threatening conditions.
Although still early in the development cycle, the CHNC initiative has already
fostered important discussions between member hospitals about how to collect
and study data in compliance with federal healthcare reform mandates. When
fully implemented, the project will facilitate tracking and trending of
individual and patient data, and establish benchmarking standards for quality
care across the United States. Physicians and their patients in rural or
otherwise isolated hospitals will share in the benefits of cutting edge health
informatics research.
You don’t have to be a large organization to benefit from
using computers for social good. As demonstrated by the Sea Turtle Conservancy
(STC), based in Gainesville, Florida, social networking can be a powerful way
for a small organization to gain more power and influence. With a staff of
fewer than 20 people, the STC is trying to reach a world-wide audience about
the importance of saving sea turtles. By enhancing, and in some cases
replacing, traditional labor intensive outreach methods with a strategic use of
social media, they get their message out where it really counts. For example,
when the Deep Horizon Oil Spill occurred, state and federal agencies asked for
STC assistance, knowing the group was a source of reliable, accurate
information about sea turtles and that they had an effective social media
presence. The agencies kept the STC in the loop about many activities and the
group subsequently played an important role in voicing the positive aspects of
the disaster response. Significantly, the STC increased their membership even
during the recent recession.
Surprisingly, most organizations I studied did not advertise
their computing accomplishments. Yet publicizing your use of computers for the
public good can be a valuable selling point. Here in San Diego, where our
industry focus is heavily weighted towards biotechnology and medical care, we
have a unique opportunity to be on the leading edge of social responsibility
and computing. Competitive advantage will follow. San Diego businesses use
cutting edge digital technology, are making life saving new discoveries all the
time, and provide state of the art services. Putting the spotlight on how you
use computing to benefit society will surprise your audience and cause them to
see you in a whole new light.
