Technology – a Boost or a Bane? Inclusive Innovation and Social Choices

• In Event: Policy Complexity of Technology and Innovation

Abstract

New technologies are a source of both optimism and dread. This dualism is apparent in the case of People With Disabilities (PWD). On the one hand, new technologies could take the form of assistive devices that help PWD better integrate into the labor market and enhance their capacity to function in society. On the other, new technologies – especially when their development does not follow the principles of universal design – could create new obstacles for PWD often requiring considerable effort to adjust. In an era that is characterized by technological acceleration it is imperative to ask, from a social policy perspective, whether governments could guide technological innovation and absorption in directions that would mainly benefit PWD specifically, and socially marginal populations more generally?
In this study, we approach this question utilizing a qualitative comparative framework focusing on government programs as they apply to PWD relevant technologies in Canada, Israel, Sweden and the United States. Our research is based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews with primary stakeholders and policymakers in the four countries. Our preliminary findings indicate that across all countries policy thinking on how technological development could be guided in directions beneficial to the PWD is marginal. Nevertheless, over the last decade regulatory frameworks that require universal design (that is design intended to accommodate PWD and the elderly in addition to less limited consumers) are gradually evolving. What is generally missing from policy are government efforts to support customized technological innovation targeted for PWD. We argue that not only is this a major oversight, but that commonly employed government instruments, primarily regulation and market-supporting tax incentives, are ill fitted for promoting customized innovation. Governments that wish to advance innovation for PWD should consider both direct state subsidies and appropriate innovation activities within government- sponsored centers.

Authors

• Dan Breznitz

• Amos Zehavi, Tel Aviv University