Faizel Patel – 10/06/2020
Photo: Forbes
An academic at the University of Cape Town’s newly established Tech4Good Lab says the facility will be an international collaboration to create awareness about the need for ethical frameworks and normative standards where societal values must be promoted as priorities.
The Tech4Good Lab within the School of Information Technology has launched with the ‘Drones4Good’ programme that will extend beyond South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
The ‘Drones4Good’ programme will determine the main privacy, safety and utility considerations (ethical, legal and social implications) with respect to the use of drones for crowd monitoring, message broadcasting and social distancing activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to Radio Islam, Dr Sumarie Roodt says the overall intention of the Tech4Good Lab is that becomes a centre of excellence.
“This lab for research is around how we can ethically use technology in a socially responsible way that balances the need for economic development, in other words profit with the need to protect society being people and the environment, being planet.”
Roodt says the point of the lab is to also make sure technology is used responsibly in a manner that gives everyone a voice.
“Technology can only be viewed as valuable if it supports the quality of life of all the inhabitants of the planet.”
Roodt says while there are challenges around the right to privacy when it comes to technological implementation, they are focusing on drones and how they can be used to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen to the interview with Dr Sumarie Roodt
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